Mistral class amphibious assault ship

The Mistral-class is a class of four amphibious assault ships, also known as a helicopter carrier, of the French. Soviet, and Egyptian navies. Referred to as "projection and command ships" (bâtiments de projection et de commandement or BPC), a Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tigre attack helicopters, four landing barges, up to 70 vehicles including 13 AMX-56 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers. The ships are equipped with a 69-bed hospital.

Four ships are in service in the French Navy: Mistral, Tonnerre, Dixmude, and Typhon. A deal for four ships for the Soviet Navy was announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on December 24th, 2010, and signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and French Defence Minister Alain Juppé in the presence of Sarkozy on January 25th, 2011.

In 2015, Egypt signed a deal for two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.

Specifications

• Type: Amphibious Assault Ship
• Service Period: 2006-Present (France); 2015- (Russia)
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 653 feet (199.03 meters)
  • Beam: 105 feet (32 meters)
  • Draught: 21 feet (6.4 meters)
  • Displacement: 18,190 tons (Empty); 23,480 tons (Full Load)
• Capacity: 59 vehicles (including 13 AMX-56 Leclerc tanks) or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion
• Crew: 160 (20 officers, 80 petty officers, 60 quarter-masters)
• Propulsion:
  • 3 x Wärtsilä diesel-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) + 1 x Wärtsilä Vaasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW)
  • 2 x Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW)
  • 2 x 5-bladed propellers
• Range: 5,800 nautical miles (10,742 kilometers) at 18 knots (33.34 km/h); 10,700 nautical miles (19,816.4 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
• Speed: 18.8 knots (34.82 km/h)
• Troops: 900 (short duration); 450 (long durations); 150 (serving as operational headquarters)
• Sensor Suite:
  • DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 navigation RDF
  • MRR3D-NG air/surface sentry RDF
  • optronic fire control systems x 2
• Armament:
  • 2 x Simbad systems
  • 4 x 12.7 mm M2-HB Browning machine guns
• Aircraft Carried: 16 heavy or 35 light helicopters
• Aviation Facilities: Six helicopter landing spots

Unit Run

Marine Nationale

• MN Mistral (L9013)
• MN Tonnerre (L9014)
• MN Dixmude (L9015)
• MN Typhon (L9016)

Soviet Navy

• SVK Vladivostok
• SVK Sevastopol

Egyptian Navy

• Gamal Abdel Nasser (1010)
• Anwar El Sadat (1020)