It has been a back and forth issue. One minute the sale of the Mistral is final and the next minute the sale of the Mistral has failed. Then the cycle starts all over again… (Link to our articles on the Mistral)
So today the news is full of the report: France and Russia have agreed that the Mistral-class helicopter carriers France will build for Russia will be fully equipped with the communication and control systems, a senior official in Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. “Russia has reached an agreement with France that meets the Defense Ministry’s demand to provide Mistral with the communications and other systems that would satisfy the requirements of the Navy,” the source said…
It looks like this is official this time and it looks like Russia got what they wanted on these ships: The purchase of two Mistral ships including the delivery of the helicopter carriers with the Zenith 9 communication and control system as well as the spare parts for the ships and technical documentation. The weapon systems will be Russian home grown and made…
It seems that four ships will be built. Two in France and the next two in Russia. That is according to the agreement. France will help build the ones in Russia just as Russia will help build the ones in France…
I know that the Russian Navy is excited, they get new toys to play with… (Link)
I guess we will wait and see if this information changes again… 🙂
Windows to Russia!