Egyptian ship Gamal Abdel Nasser

ENS Gamal Abdel Nasser docked at Saint-Nazaire,
April 2016
History
Russia
Name: Sevastopol
Ordered: June 2011
Builder:
Laid down: 18 June 2013[1]
Launched: 20 November 2014[2]
Status: contract cancelled
Egypt
Name: Gamal Abdel Nasser[3]
Acquired: 23 September 2015[4]
Commissioned: 2016 (intended)
Status: Crew training is underway, to be delivered in June 2016 [5]
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Mistral-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement:
  • 16,500 tonnes (empty)
  • 21,300 tonnes (full load)
  • 32,300 tonnes (with ballasts)
Length: 199 m (653 ft)
Beam: 32 m (105 ft)
Draught: 6.3 m (21 ft)
Installed power: 3 × Wärtsilä 16V32 (3 × 6,200 kW (8,300 hp))
Speed: 18.8 knots (34.8 km/h; 21.6 mph)
Range:
  • 10,800 km (5,800 nmi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
  • 19,800 kilometres (10,700 nmi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Armament:
  • Former Russian armament:
Aircraft carried:
  • Former Russian aircraft:
Aviation facilities: Helicopter deck and hangar

ENS Gamal Abdel Nasser is an Egyptian amphibious assault ship, a type of helicopter carrier, of the French Mistral class. It was originally built for the Russian Navy and underwent sea trials.[8] Subsequently the contract was cancelled by France and agreement on compensation reached with the Russian government. Egypt and France concluded the deal to acquire the two former Russian Mistral for roughly 950 million euros. [9]

History

The Russian government placed an order for the ship in 2011. The construction of the ship would be shared between the countries with France building about 60 percent and Russia 40. Work started in France, Saint-Nazaire, on 18 June 2013 and in the Russian Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg on 4 July 2013.[10] Russia would send its parts to France for final assembling.[11] The ship was expected to join the Russian Navy in 2015.[12][13][14][15] After final assembly of the main structures in France the ship was scheduled to go to St. Petersburg for the outfitting of additional Russian-specific weapons and subsystems.[16]

The Russian acquisition of French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships was considered to be the largest defense deal between Russia and the West since World War II.[17]

In 2014 as criticism of Russian intervention in Ukraine grew France came under increasing pressure to cancel or suspend the delivery of the two Mistral-class hulls, Vladivostok and Sevastopol.[18] Some commentators suggested France try to find alternative customers for the two vessels.[19] In August 2015 the two governments reached agreement on terms for cancelling the contract; France would keep the ships and fully reimburse Russia.[20]

On 7 August 2015, a French diplomatic source confirmed that President Hollande discussed the matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his visit to Egypt during the inauguration of the New Suez Canal in Ismailia.[21][22] Subsequently, Egypt and France concluded the deal to acquire the two former Russian Mistral for roughly 950 million euros, including the costs of training Egyptian crews.[23][24] Speaking on RMC Radio, Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Defence Minister, said that Egypt had already paid the whole price for the helicopter carriers. [25]

References

  1. ↑ "Франция закладывает второй корабль типа "Мистраль" для России | РИА Новости". Ria.ru. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  2. ↑ Второй вертолетоносец типа "Мистраль" спущен на воду во Франции
  3. ↑ "Saint-Nazaire Navires Mistral : le nom de Nasser s'affiche sur la coque". 22 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Regan, James (23 September 2015). "Hollande, Sissi agree on sale of Mistral warships to Egypt". Paris. Reuters. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Mistral Helicopter Carriers to Arrive in Egypt in June-September". 10 April 2016.
  6. ↑ DP-65 antisaboteur grenade launchers
  7. ↑ "Russia’s Mistrals will be rapid response ships - News - Society - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video". :. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  8. ↑ "Mistral : sortie en mer du "Vladivostok" à Saint-Nazaire, des marins russes à bord" (in French). clicanoo.re. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Egypt agrees to buy warships built for Russia from France". BBC. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  10. ↑ "Строительство УДК "Севастополь" - Сделано у нас". Sdelanounas.ru. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  11. ↑ 01.10.2012. "First Mistral Laid Down at Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard". Rusnavy.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  12. ↑ "Russian Navy to Receive Mistral Warship in 3 Years | Defense | RIA Novosti". En.rian.ru. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  13. ↑ John Pike. "Russia signs $1.7 bln deal for 2 French warships". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  14. ↑ "Vladivostok, Russian Navy future Mistral class LHD, specificities and characteristics(Navy recognition)". March 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Russia Moves Mistral Stern Construction to France". June 21, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Russia Moves Mistral Stern Construction to France | Defense | RIA Novosti". En.rian.ru. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  17. ↑ "France, U.S. Discuss Russian Mistral Carrier Query | Defense News". defensenews.com. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  18. ↑ Jim Dorschner (September 2014). "A Tale of Two Ships: Turning Russia's Loss into a Mistral Bounty for NATO and Canada – 'NATO Naval Ship Alliance' and 'HMCS Resolute'". Canadian American Strategic Review. Archived from the original on 2014-09-15. The September 2014 decision by France to withhold delivery of two Mistral class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), being built for Russia, represents a tremendous opportunity for the NATO alliance, for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), and even for a French shipbuilding industry and economy that might otherwise lose out.
  19. ↑ Stephen Daly (April 2014). "French Amphibious Warfare Ships for Russia? Economic Sanctions, Coincident Procurement Opportunities, and the Mistral Class LHDs". Canadian American Strategic Review. Archived from the original on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2014-09-15. Then there is the possibility of poking Vladimir Putin in the eye by taking over ownership of the Sevastopol.
  20. ↑ "Mistral warships: Russia and France agree compensation deal". BBC News. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  21. ↑ Sallon, Hélène (7 August 2015). "Mistral : l’Arabie saoudite et l’Egypte " sont prêtes à tout pour acheter les deux navires "". Le Monde. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Egypt, Saudi Arabia ‘desperate’ to purchase Mistral warships". france24. 7 August 2015.
  23. ↑ Dalton, Matthew (23 September 2015). "France to Sell Two Mistral Warships to Egypt". Wall Street Journal. (subscription required (help)).
  24. ↑ Cullinane, Susannah; Martel, Noisette (23 September 2015). "France to sell Egypt two warships previously contracted to Russia". CNN.
  25. ↑ "French Arms Exports Reach All-Time High in 2015". 14 January 2016.
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