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During the joint French-Egyptian naval exercises "Cleopatra 2017" held from 8 to 11 July 2017, a video released by the Egyptian MoD shows the Anwar El-Sadat (Mistral-class) LHD with four US-made AN/TWQ-1 Avenger on the flight deck acting as point short-range air defence systems. Cleopatra 2017 Mistral LHD AN TWQ 1 AvengerBoeing AN/TWQ-1 Avenger (fitted with Raytheon FIM-92 Stinger missiles) on the flight deck of the Mistral-class LHD Anwar El-Sadat (L 1020) during the joint French-Egyptian naval exercise "Cleopatra 2017". Picture: Ministry of Defense of Egypt The Avenger AN/TWQ-1 Air Defense System vehicle is a missile mounted system which provides...

Though Russian officials have delayed plans to move forward with two of its major surface ship programs indefinitely, including a new aircraft carrier, the Kremlin insists it will move ahead with work on a modern amphibious assault ship. Despite assurances to the contrary, there is little evidence that the country’s shipbuilding infrastructure is anymore ready for this task, and the project could easily end up deferred in the face of other priorities. On June 4, 2017, Russia’s state-owned news outlet Sputnik reported that the Ministry of Defense had included the proposed Lavina-class amphibious assault ship in its up-coming modernization plan,...

French amphibious carrier visits Japan ahead of Pacific show of power By Nobuhiro Kubo | SASEBO As tension spikes on the Korean peninsula, a French amphibious assault carrier sailed into Japan's naval base of Sasebo on Saturday ahead of drills that risk upsetting China, which faces U.S. pressure to rein in North Korea's arms programs. The Mistral will lead exercises next month near Guam, along with forces from Japan, the United States and Britain, practicing amphibious landings around Tinian, an island about 2,500 km (1,553 miles) south of the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The drills, involving 700 troops, were planned...

France has delivered the first of a series of Mistral warships to Egypt, the Egyptian news website Al Ahram reported Thursday. The helicopter carriers were initially constructed for the Russian Navy, but France pulled out of the deal following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. France paid to Russia 950 million euro ($1 billion) as compensation for breaching the deal. The official ceremony was attended Egyptian Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi, the commander of the French naval forces and other top military officials from France and Egypt. The warship was named after the former president of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser. A...

The first Mistral-class LHD Gamal Abdel Nasser (hull number L1010, the former Vladivostok initially intended for the Russian Navy), purchased by Egypt after the cancellation of the contract with Russia went out to sea for the first time with an Egyptian crew for a week of training. Egyptian Navy Mistral-class LHD Gamal Abdel Nasser sailing out of Saint-Nazaire with an Egyptian crew aboard for the first time. Picture taken on 06/05/2016. Source: www.facebook.com/EgyptMilitary 180 Egyptian Navy sailors are reported to be aboard the vessel. A second series of formation at sea is set to take place on the second half...

Well, it's official now. Egypt is getting an aircraft carrier. FRENCH MISTRAL-CLASS WARSHIP. NEXT PORT OF CALL: EGYPT. IMAGE SOURCE: FRANCISCO GONZALEZ VIA FLICKR. Actually, two aircraft carriers. Earlier this month, we told you about Egypt's plans to buy both of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ships France had been trying to sell to Russia -- then refused to sell after Russia invaded Ukraine. At that time, France had only confirmed that Egypt presented one of multiple "serious options" for offloading its aircraft carriers. Other nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Canada had also expressed interest. But last week, the...

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...

Egypt’s military junta is going on a shopping spree for weapons. Remember those French amphibious assault ships originally intended for Russia that are now sitting out to dry? Cairo’s generals have their eyes on them, too. The French-built Mistral-class amphibious assault ship, or helicopter carrier, is a formidable vessel. Capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing barges and an entire tank battalion along with about 450 troops, these vessels give the state which owns them a substantial ability to project air and ground power far from its shores. France has built five of these warships to date, two of which...

France has agreed to pay compensation to Russia for cancelling the sale of two warships, a Russian official says. France stopped the sale after the outbreak of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russia is accused of backing separatist rebels. The Mistral contract was worth €1.2bn (£843m; $1.3bn). Russia made an advance payment of about €840m. The first of two helicopter carriers - the Vladivostok - was supposed to be delivered to Russia in November 2014. "The negotiations are completely finished, everything has already been decided, both the time-frame and the amount," said Vladimir Kozhin, an aide to Russian President...

France transferred several pieces of advanced technology and know-how to Russian shipbuilders before the Mistral warship deal was put on ice following Western sanctions, a news report said Thursday. “According to the contract between the Russian Defense Ministry and France's DCNS [shipbuilding company] there are three types of technology that were transferred,” said Alexei Diky, the director of military-industrial cooperation at Russia's massive state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), RIA Novosti reported. Under the 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) deal, signed in 2011, France was to build two Mistral-class helicopter assault ships for Russia and transfer shipbuilding expertise to the Russian...

France may sell China the same two Mistral-class warships that would have been delivered to Russia under the terms of a nixed 2011 deal, according to a report. French officials opted not to sell the ships to Russia last November amid Moscow’s increased military activity in Eastern Europe. A potential sale of the Mistrals to China was one of several options French officials were considering to mitigate the financial loss associated with the canceled deal, Russia-owned outlet Sputnik News reports, citing a report from the Watch China Times. The ships could also be integrated into the French navy or sold...

France has revealed it is considering sinking two brand new state-of-the-art warships if a deal to sell them both to Russia collapses under pressure from America and the EU. The French government is supposed to have received a payment of €1.12 billion from Moscow for the vessels, but the transfer has been postponed amid tensions over the conflict in Ukraine. With questions raised over whether the agreement will ever be rekindled, it has now been claimed that France would rather scuttle the warships rather than pay to keep them operational. As it stands France looks set to lose hundreds of...

PARIS—France said it is weighing the option of giving Moscow a refund for a €1.2 billion ($1.29 billion) contract to supply the Russian navy with two warships, whose delivery has been put on hold amid the conflict in Ukraine. French President François Hollande said he would discuss the contract with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Armenia, where world leaders will gather to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing and forced deportation of more than 1.5 million ethnic Armenians. Mr. Hollande suspended the delivery of two Mistral class warships to Russia last fall after the U.S. and other...

Various Russian media outlets on Wednesday fell for an April Fools' joke news story published by the EUObserver, which stated that France has decided to deliver a Mistral-class warship originally meant for Russia to Latvia instead.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov has told Interfax that France must decide by the end of the year if it will deliver two mistral class warships or give Moscow a refund. He also reportedly said that the second option of a refund "might even be preferable."

Some 400 Russian sailors training on a Mistral-class warship France controversially built for their navy will be returning home for an unspecified amount of time, the ship’s French builder has said.

PARIS – France suspended the planned delivery of a warship to Russia on Tuesday, after months of growing speculation about what would be the biggest arms sale ever by a NATO country to the Kremlin. ·

UPDATED: Russia on Friday warned France of "serious" consequences unless Paris delivers a Mistral-class assault warship, whose handover has been delayed by concerns over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, by the end of this month, a report said. "We are preparing for different scenarios. We are waiting until the end of the month, then we will lodge serious claims," the state news agency RIA Novosti quoted an anonymous high-ranking Moscow source as saying. The first of two mammoth Mistral helicopter carriers was supposed to be delivered on Friday according to the original deal signed in 2011 and worth €1.2...

France insisted on Thursday that conditions "have not been met" to allow for the controversial delivery of a warship to Russia, but with the deadline approaching, Paris finds itself in a real predicament - lose billions or risk NATO's wrath? As a deadline for the controversial delivery of a warship to Russia nears, France faces a gruelling dilemma: ditch the deal, lose billions and antagonise Moscow - or go ahead and attract NATO's wrath. Until the deadly crisis in Ukraine erupted this year, the €1.2 billion ($1.5-billion) contract to build and sell two mammoth Mistral-class assault ships to the Russian...

The Canadian military has emerged as a potential destination for the controversial French-built Mistral-class helicopter carrier ships, built for Russia, the International Business Times is reporting. The possibility of a Canadian solution appeared in French media after French President François Hollande visited Canada this week, the newspaper reported. This type of suggestion has surfaced before. Former Conservative Senator Hugh Segal suggested that Canada or NATO should buy the Mistral-class military assault ships rather than allow them to be added to the Russia naval fleet. The deal is worth $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion (different figures are out there) to the...