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France shows off cutting-edge navy ship in Russia

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NaRu:

--- Quote from: relic2279 on November 26, 2009, 01:23:24 PM ---It's not that I am surprised they are, I'm surprised Russia's military tech is behind enough to where they have to purchase their top end stuff from France.

--- End quote ---

Perhaps they were smarter that way to let another country do all the work for them

darkjedi:
^^Or, France just has more money than Russia does now, so France can start building it sooner, and Russia can pay it later.

darkjedi:
The ship looks nice on the surface but within it's full of technical limitations... let's look at the engine. 19 knots is an embarrassing top speed for a 21000-ton amphibious assault ship. You could say they'd be assaulting over-the-horizon so it's fine, but boy, it's still an amphibious assault ship. Speed is still of essence here.

Next thing, defense systems.

MANPAD and machine guns for point defense. lol. I wouldn't be surprised if Russia stripped them off and refitted the ship with Tor and AK-630 instead, or maybe even the missiles-and-guns integrated CIWS Kashtan, but that could just be overkill - it's the most advanced CIWS actually in service out there.

ASW is entirely reliant on helicopters - no torpedo or mortar tubes - nothing.

Anti-ship and anti-missile systems are non-existent, except for a 30mm gun... good against speedboats, I guess.

Anyone who says France's radar and EW systems are better than Russia's should jump over a cliff now.

But then I don't think Russia could have found any better ship from anyone else who were willing to build one for them, and Russia can always compensate for France's technological inferiority by themselves anyway any time they need to when they receive the ship.

The ship might be cutting-edge for France, but that's it. It's not the technology involved in the ship that has attracted Russia's attention - rather they don't want to pressure their ship industry for building ships like this when they have something else better to build or maintain, when someone else can build it for them.

AntiPaladin:
*Blink, blink*

Wait, what?

This tub is being called cutting edge? 19 knots for a 21k ton amphib isn't embarrassing, it's fucking pathetic. A Tarawa class, built 30 years ago, has an operational weight almost double that and is listed as having an unclassified speed of 24 knots (mind you, actual speed will be quite a bit higher) The Wasp class makes it look even worse, especially in terms of built in defense systems.

Additionally, both have a troop and helo compliment that puts this to shame.

Makes me glad I'm in the US navy, not Russia's.

darkjedi:
French Ship Mistral Hosts Russian Naval Aviation
(Source: French Navy; issued Nov. 30, 2009)
(Issued in French only; unofficial translation by defense-aerospace.com)

"This day will mark history." These are the words uttered on November 27, 2009 by the Director General and Chief Designer of the Kamov firm, Mr Sergei Viktorovich Mikheyev, at the first landing of the Russian Ka-52 combat helicopter aboard a helicopter carrier. In this case, the ship was the French Navy’s Bâtiment de Projection et Commandement (BPC) Mistral.

Having barely sailed out of the Neva, in the heart of St. Petersburg, where the Mistral made a four-day visit, the ship made a "cross deck" landing exercise with Russian Navy helicopters. For over an hour, several deck landings were made by a Ka-27 (Helix anti submarine warfare helicopter), a Ka-29 (assault transport helicopter) and the impressive Ka-52, which also simulated a refueling on the flight deck of the Mistral.

The Ka-52 is Russia’s latest combat helicopter, and like other helicopters designed by the Kamov design bureau is fitted with coaxial main rotors. Thanks to the absence of anti-torque tail rotor, they offer stability and exceptional agility. Another originality of the Ka-52 is its ejector seats, which allow its two pilots, installed side by side, to be extracted from the aircraft after the blades are blown off in less than 6 seconds.

The Ka-52, which has not yet entered active service, thus made its first deck landings on the Mistral, whose choice is a strong symbol of the friendship between Russia and France.

Further evidence of the close Franco-Russian relationship was given by the participation of a French officer to the KA-29’s deck landings. Ensign Rémi Wasseln, helicopter flight deck officer on the Mistral, made several landings in the Mistral aboard the Ka-29. It is with ill-concealed joy that he commented on these bilateral exercises: "It's a rare moment that I experienced, and I will have fond memories of being able to fly over the Mistral in the Ka-29 while a Ka-52 was in the landing circuit. The crew of the Ka-29 was very friendly, and showed great kindness to me. I look forward to working again with the Russian navy, maybe with the Ka-52," he said.

In unison, General Nikolai Victirivitch Kuklev, acting commander of the Russian Naval Air Arm, M. Mikheev and Captain Didier Piaton, commander of the Mistral, welcomed the ease with which these exercises were smoothly conducted. Adapting protocols, acclimatizing to new operational cultures, and communicating when not speaking the same language are not easy accomplishments. These difficulties have been overcome by the common desire of the Russian naval aviation and the French navy to mark this day in history by allowing the Ka-52 Russian made its first deck landings on the French Mistral.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Russian government has shown interest in purchasing one or more Mistral-class amphibious ships from France, and the visit to St. Petersburg was an initial demonstration of its capabilities.)

That helicopter looks badass, man. Seriously.

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