Mistral - Sale of the Century
On 05 August 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Francois Hollande made a joint decision to terminate the 1.2-billion euro ($1.32 billion at current exchange rate) Mistral contract signed in June 2011.
Following the termination, the French Mistral-class helicopter carriers were awaiting new customers, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said 06 August 2015 in an interview with RTL, although he did not elaborate as to who the prospective buyers are, Atlantico reported. “There are many interested buyers because it is a high quality vessel with wide application,” said the minister.
A number of countries are rumored to be interested in purchasing the Mistrals, including China and India. Not a single nation had made an open bid for the warships built specifically for Russia. “Honestly, I really do not know what they (France) will continue to do with the two ships they’ve already built, which in terms of design were originally made for the Russian weapons. Nothing else can be fixed into there,” Klintsevich said.
India, Brazil and Vietnam are potential buyers for the French helicopter Mistral ("Mistral"), previously destined for the Russian Navy. This opinion was expressed in an interview with the director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), Ruslan Pukhov. "Usually vehicles are built to order, so it is a unique case, and we will see what this" soap opera "will end - said Pukhov. - It is logical to assume that the French will offer those ships to those countries that by its military Marine program planned this kind of ships have, or try to sell the ships at a reduced price to countries that have a tradition of the acquisition of the French used equipment."
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are interested in buying two French Mistral warships, AFP said, citing media reports on Friday. The warships had been sold to Russia before the French authorities scrapped the deal. Egypt and Saudi Arabia “are desperate to buy two Mistrals,” an unnamed official French source told France’s leading daily, Le Monde, reported on 07 August 2015. “King Salman of Saudi Arabia wants to build a fleet in Egypt which could project regional power in the Red Sea and Mediterranean,” according to the source.
Neither Egypt or Saudi Arabia can make use of a French Mistral-class helicopter carrier, as they are designed for long-distance military operations, Mahmoud Khalaf, an adviser at the Egyptian Nasser Military Academy, said 07 August 2015. "It is very hard to imagine that Egypt would conduct military operations in areas where helicopter carriers would be needed. Arab countries are located on the shores of the Red and the Mediterranean seas, that’s why Egypt and Saudi Arabia do not need such ships”.
IHS Jane's named 13 countries as potential buyers. Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Singapore, Turkey and Venezuela have the means and the need for the amphibious assault ships, the defense consultancy believes. The majority of these countries have a ship building industry capable of manufacturing an amphib.
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