Russia's Mistral class LHDs: updates

[Colin Parkinson]

A & B Jetty are scheduled to be rebuilt in Esquimalt and that project is grinding through the process as we speak.

 

[Jungle]

Some new news on the Mistrals:

France considering scuttling Mistral aircraft carriers rather than agree to sell the vessels to Russia because of sanctions brought in over Ukraine

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3070579/France-considering-scuttling-Mistral-aircraft-carriers-agree-sell-vessels-Russia-sanctions-brought-Ukraine.html#ixzz3ZSd5hFfV

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Someone, please give Ottawa warning orders !!!

BTW, re: The jetties:

In Esquimalt: easy enough to extend the Colwood jetty a bit and accommodate, taking the ship over to A jetty when need be.
In Halifax: there are two jetty spots for reconstruction - The (very) old jetty four and five (whatever their Navy letter desig was - I never got used to that). Old jetty four - under the bridge, used to be the Bonnie's jetty. And The "Carrier jetty" in Shearwater was only used when there was a need to load or unload aircrafts by crane and get them back to the base. Otherwise, it was an inconvenient one for the other ship support functions that would be required while in harbour.

 

[jacob_of_canada]

Back in 2011, Canada shows "strong interest" in purchasing two Mistral class ships.


http://fr.reuters.com/article/frEuroRpt/idFRLDE70602X20110107

 

[CougarKing]

Future Mistrals in Chinese PLA-N service for assaulting Taiwan, Japan's Senkakus or the Spratlys in the South China Sea?

Business Insider

France could sell those Russian Mistral warships to China

The ongoing saga over France's potential sale of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia took a new turn Monday with Chinese media reporting that representatives from the French in Shanghai could propose a deal to sell the warships to China.

In recent weeks Moscow has taken a firm, if conciliatory, stance on the Mistral deal. Last month President Vladimir Putin announced that his officials did not intend to seek any penalties or fines from France over the postponed sale but instead would seek only repayment of the costs incurred on the Russian side if the sale were to fall through.

The problem with a China deal is that the ships have been built to Russian specifications. The first of the two, the Vladivostok, has already been taken on sea trials by Russian naval personnel, while the second ship, the Sevastopol, now also appears to be ready for sea trials.

But for now, they have nowhere to go.
(...SNIPPED)

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The US should pay us to take them and run them, after all they pay billions to Pakistan, Iraq and Egypt and then get shafted.

 

[quadrapiper]

The US should pay us to take them and run them, after all they pay billions to Pakistan, Iraq and Egypt and then get shafted.

Does that include paying for the Cyrillic-to-English translation of everything, and a spot of debugging?

 

[Tibbson]

Future Mistrals in Chinese PLA-N service for assaulting Taiwan, Japan's Senkakus or the Spratlys in the South China Sea?

Business Insider

So what would stop China from buying them and then selling them to the Russians?  Isn't this essentially how China got its carrier?  Bought it through a "private sale" to be used as a floating casino but those plans changed quick enough.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Does that include paying for the Cyrillic-to-English translation of everything, and a spot of debugging?

Still cheaper than supplying Iraq with M1 tanks and paying Pakistan to stab the US in the back.

 

[CougarKing]

A partial refund?

Show them the Euros...err..Rubles...

Agence-France Presse

France offers Russia 785 million euros to ditch warship deal

Moscow (AFP) - France has offered Russia its terms to scrap a contentious contract to supply two warships that was suspended due to the Ukraine crisis, but Moscow judged the sum as unacceptable, a report said Friday.

Russian defence sources told Kommersant newspaper that the French side is willing to pay 785 million euros ($890 million), and the documents are now "being studied" by the Russian government, defence ministry and other relevant parties which participated in the 2011 deal.

But the daily reported that Moscow was not happy with the French offer, with the defence ministry claiming that Russian firms have now incurred 1.16 billion euros of costs associated with the ships.

While Kommersant reported France is proposing to return only the cash that was paid so far on the deal, Russia would like to have other expenses reimbursed, such as training costs of 400 sailors for the crews and building port infrastructure in Vladivostok, where the first of the two ships was to be based.

"It is necessary to demand 1.5 billion euro compensation from France, not just for breaking the contract but for all the costs, for preparing the 400-strong crew, for all transportation, including the fact that we had to send a ship to collect the crew" from the Saint Nazaire shipyard, he told RIA-Novosti agency.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[Spencer100]

So they can offer them to a third party.......... >

 

[MilEME09]

really once you convert it it's probably more Rubles now with the Russian economy >

 

[tomahawk6]

Two Mistral LHD's for $1.33b each pretty cheap.Then buy F-35B's for force projection.The last alternative would be to destroy the ships which would be a real waste.

http://news.yahoo.com/sink-sell-russia-spat-leaves-france-warships-spare-141951864.html

 

[geo]

After our last submarine purchase fiasco, don't see Canada biting for this....

 

[Colin Parkinson]

No we will wait 7 years and then agree to buy them. The Upholders were in good shape when initially offered, it was our politicians that dithered for so long.

 

[jollyjacktar]

There's a good reason the RN got rid of them.  They were junk.  Of course, our dithering so long didn't make them any better.

 

[Baz]

Two Mistral LHD's for $1.33b each pretty cheap.Then buy F-35B's for force projection.The last alternative would be to destroy the ships which would be a real waste.

http://news.yahoo.com/sink-sell-russia-spat-leaves-france-warships-spare-141951864.html

So a few of us had a thought bubble.

Buy both Mistrals, one on each coast.
Canadianize them as little as possible.
Ensure they have a single RAS point starboard side (so we can use them as "interim tankers").
Put all the trainees on them.
Convert extra spaces to classrooms.
Embark the two operations MH squadrons.
Sail them every week from Mon to Fri to regenerate people...

After a few years, as the new ships start to come on line, we can think about either getting rid of them or using them to start developing a "makes sense" littoral maneuver capability.

If a disaster response mission came up (like Haiti or Katrina), pull of the trainees, load up with helos (including Chinooks and Griffins) and boats (including the left over tanker and coast guard "landing craft"), fill 'er up with supplies, and off you go.

Imagine how many subbies you could cram into one of those

 

[Kirkhill]

So a few of us had a thought bubble.

Buy both Mistrals, one on each coast.
Canadianize them as little as possible.
Ensure they have a single RAS point starboard side (so we can use them as "interim tankers").
Put all the trainees on them.
Convert extra spaces to classrooms.
Embark the two operations MH squadrons.
Sail them every week from Mon to Fri to regenerate people...

After a few years, as the new ships start to come on line, we can think about either getting rid of them or using them to start developing a "makes sense" littoral maneuver capability.

If a disaster response mission came up (like Haiti or Katrina), pull of the trainees, load up with helos (including Chinooks and Griffins) and boats (including the left over tanker and coast guard "landing craft"), fill 'er up with supplies, and off you go.

Imagine how many subbies you could cram into one of those

Baz - you have pretty much described this ship

RFA Argus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFA_Argus_%28A135%29

IIRC she was not originally considered sea-worthy (I believe her flight deck cracked) and she was relegated to dock-queen status and used for flight training for helos.

She was then rebuilt and put into service as a Hospital Ship in which role she currently serves in Sierra Leone support the Ebola operation.

Forces TV video on RFA Argus

 

[Baz]

Kirkhill,

Yep.  Knew that.

Except not just for air generation; use it to regen all of the sea trades.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

So a few of us had a thought bubble.

Buy both Mistrals, one on each coast.
Canadianize them as little as possible.
Ensure they have a single RAS point starboard side (so we can use them as "interim tankers").
Put all the trainees on them.
Convert extra spaces to classrooms.
Embark the two operations MH squadrons.
Sail them every week from Mon to Fri to regenerate people...

After a few years, as the new ships start to come on line, we can think about either getting rid of them or using them to start developing a "makes sense" littoral maneuver capability.

If a disaster response mission came up (like Haiti or Katrina), pull of the trainees, load up with helos (including Chinooks and Griffins) and boats (including the left over tanker and coast guard "landing craft"), fill 'er up with supplies, and off you go.

Imagine how many subbies you could cram into one of those

Actually Baz, that is exactly what the French Navy does. Their officer training system has them going on two extended training cruises in their training years: Once as "midshipmen" to learn all the basic of the shipboard trades, then as fresh young ensigns, to consolidate their learning for the officer of the watch/day/deck job.

The "cruises" are carried out on board one of the Navy's larger vessels. It used to be the Jeanne D'Arc helicopter carrier, but since she retired in 2010, they have been using one of the Mistrals (FNS Dixmude actually, if memory serves) each year for that function. PS: Very little to do to set up classrooms as the joint operations centre are actually just large open compartments with the wiring run below "false" deck panel and in the deck head sot here compartments can be configured quickly into whatever set up is required for the type of operation you are going out to perform.