Article Posted on : - Jan 12, 2011

The Mistral

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia will build new shipyards specifically for Mistral construction near St. Petersburg, according to a media report.

Russian news agency Ria Novosti quoting defense industry sources Wednesday said, a decision has been adopted to build Mistral class ships on the Kotlin Island located 20 miles west of St. Petersburg in the Baltic Sea.

Russia and France had decided to jointly build two Mistral class helicopter carriers at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and another two in Russia.

"The new shipyards will be built specifically for Mistral construction, but they will be used later to construct commercial bulk ships and large combat ships," the sources said.

Russia plans to start building Mistrals after 2014. The first Mistral class ship, worth over 700 mln Euros, is expected to be built within 36 months after Russia makes an advance payment scheduled for January 2011, the report said.

A Mistral class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, up to 70 armoured vehicles including 13 battle tanks, and 450 personnel.