The French Mistral is the better ship...
Then why does Russia want the French comm systems so badly? They won't integrate with the Russian systems (I just read an article trashing Russia's comm systems).
I think this is debatable. The reason I say this is because of two reasons. First, Russia doesn't have any amphibious assault ships which are great tools for projecting power. Not only does their Northwestern Fleet lack one, but also there Pacific Fleet; Russia's trade in the Pacific has been growing and they could use the benefits of an amphibious assault ship.
Hmmm, not a bad idea. That would make sense.
It's the official position of the VMF that the ship will be mainly a command ship. What lower-ranking commanders are thinking for themselves, between the lines, as they consider the purchase is up for debate.
First off the money wouldn't come from the procurement budget. The 2007-2015 re-armament program has no money set aside for the Mistral. If purchased, it would be funded by independent budget allocations. Second off it's a multiyear program. Only the first ship would be bought abroad, the other 3 built in Russia under license, and this would take place over a considerable amount of time. So the cost wouldn't come out of a single year, but out of many years, as payments are made.
Alas, no more....
Why does a command ship need a dock, big vehicle deck, hangar, & full-length helicopter deck?
Those are considered secondary capability, at least from what I can infer. To be perfectly honest, I don't know. I suspect that it's intended as a command ship for major amphibious landings, with the regular transports carrying most of the troops, while the Mistrals providing tac-air, and C4I functions, as well as carrying a decent amount of troops themselves. But that's just guesswork. And it certainly doesn't fit well into the current VMF structure.
Seem to me that the seems the wrong way round. As those are a central aspect of the design. Especially when C4I and command vessels have got huge superstructures such as the Blue Ridge class and others. Unless their planning to build on the flight deck and fit all the various comm suites. Don't the Russians still want it fitted with Western systems won't that defeat the object of connecting to all the their other stuff from three different arms.
The Russian commander who stated that was Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy. He is the current Commander in Chief of the Russian Navy; he's not a junior officer.
Wow, that is interesting...good find. It's almost surprising to see this technology change hands, and possibly continue and get into Russian hands.Alas, no more....
Have a read at these two links.....
RACAL ELECTRONICS PLC -- Company History
Racal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
...& for those who can't be bothered reading, THALES bought a company called RACAL, who originally bought out DECCA.
In other words, THALES (the FRENCH) own the IPR...
...& as for the old DECCA GPS system, well they pulled the plug on that in March 2000. Not bad, killed a system that provided 99.5% accuracy for over 50 years, & was used across the globe by saliors & soliders alike !
So the question is, will our FRENCH colleagues sell the technology to the highest bidder ??
(Answers on a postcard please...)
SA
You're right. But then this contradicts statements saying that the Northern and Pacific fleets will be the first to get it, coming from First Deputy-Head of the VMF Headquarters vice-admiral Burtsev («íÉÓÔÒÁÌØ» ×ÏÛÅÌ × ÏËÅÁÎ ÐÏÌÉÔÉËÉ - çÅÏÐÏÌÉÔÉËÁ, íÉÓÔÒÁÌØ, ÷íæ - òÏÓÂÁÌÔ). It's also out of line with statements that the Baltic fleet could use one to support the Kaliningrad enclave in case of a conflict (and the Pacific for the support of the Kuril Islands). Though it may be the case that each fleet will get one ship, it certainly makes sense that the Northern and Pacific fleets are prioritized.
Here's a source on the statement about the Mistral being a C&C ship: ÂÇÃËßÄ / Èñòî÷íèê: ÂÌÔ ðàññìàòðèâàåò Mistral êàê êîðàáëü óïðàâëåíèÿ ñèëàìè â ìîðå
I don't see any need (or much ability) within the current VMF to project power. Any serious amphibious operation would need air support, which means deploying the Kuznetsov in addition to the Mistral. Something that will actually be impossible for the 2012-17 timeperiod due to a lengthy planned refit. It also means significant escorts, and potentially additional troop carrying ships, given that the Mistral doesn't carry all that many.
Hmm, you're correct. Russia must be trying to ease the tension of the sale by saying it will deploy it in the Northwestern and Pacific. This article now makes me infer that about one ship will be deployed to each fleet, or something like that. Interesting.
You're true here. However, Russia's other amphibious assault ships in its Black Sea Fleet aren't as capable as the Mistral for landings. Their range is smaller, displacement is less, and capacity (for vehicles) is less. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that the Mistral can help out a little more. Nevertheless, a difference between 10 APCs or a Platoon of soldiers may not matter that much.
Interesting, I didn't know this. Thanks.
Very true and good point. This would be needed unless the foe doesn't have very many abilities or if a Russian AFB is nearby.
Why don't Russia build their own amphibious assault ships instead? With their ability in building aircraft carrier, it shouldn't be that hard and they to pay for it, they can setup a joint venture with India or China, I am quite sure they will be interested.
It does't sound like a bad idea. They could establish an intitiative to jointly develop a ship similar to the Spanish-Dutch one for the Rotterdam.