Posted on 09/23/2015 5:24:52 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
PARIS – France says it is selling two Mistral-class warships originally intended for Russia to Egypt instead.
In a statement Wednesday, the French president's office said Egypt would buy both ships. No price was given.
France agreed to refund 950 million euros ($1 billion) already paid by Russia after Paris canceled the sale, which was supposed to be the biggest arms sale ever by a NATO country to Russia but was detailed by the Ukrainian crisis.
Egypt also purchased 24 advanced fighter jets from France earlier this year for nearly $6 billion, as it sought international help to bomb Islamic State targets.
Mistral-class warships can carry 16 helicopter gunships, 700 troops
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Hypothetical. Could Russia buy those warships from Egypt?
Easier said than done! Egypt still needs the West for obvious reasons, so it won’t pi** off either the U.S. or EU. Besides, the ships still use extensive French technology, so they will be white elephants if Paris doesn’t cooperate on maintenance.
My thinking considering the US/Egypt relationship in the tank. Could Russia buy those warships for Egypt?
They could but they have moved on towards their own replacements. Probably wise.
Ping.
Two warships modified for use in cold weather and built out with Russian electronics? Probably not as hypothetical as one might think.
If Russia had a lot of confidence in their shipyard's ability to build major warships on schedule and on budget then they wouldn't have contracted with France to begin with.
Some say Russia contracted with France for foreign policy reasons as well as for the fact they are sucky at ship building.
So a dictator gets these ships after all....Being snarky of course......
Hush money from US aid coffers will basically pay France for its silence over the Iran deal. Thanks sukhoi-30mki.
Russia is expected to provide Egypt with more than $1 billion in equipment and helicopters for the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers Cairo bought from France last month, the Kremlin chief of staff said Monday.
http://www.ibtimes.com/russia-egypt-1b-mistral-deal-warships-helicopters-equipment-agreed-after-france-sale-2146777
However they will only be equipped with the electronics at a Russian port and then they will be taken over by Russia, not by Egypt. Thank you France!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.