PARIS — Crew training will be a key part of an expected contract for four Mistral-class command and projection warships to Russia, a French Navy officer said May 3.
The 21,000-metric-ton multirole ship needs a crew of 177, compared to the 1,200 or so personnel on a U.S. landing helicopter dock (LHD), which is larger than the Mistral vessel, the officer said.
Negotiations on the Russian contract have not been “finalized,” the officer said.
A huge difference in crewing will require the Russian Navy to rethink its organization, as there is ample manpower to crew the large number of vessels in service, the officer said.
The smaller crew is possible due to a high level of automation on the French ships, designed by prime contractor DCNS. The crews require intense training, with a year needed to certify senior officers, the French Navy officer said.
Russian Navy planners and deck officers will probably need two or three years to learn how to operate the new ships to their full capabilities. That was how long it took the French Navy to adapt to the Mistral, which serves as an amphibious assault ship housing about 450 troops, deploying helicopters, landing craft, and carrying onboard a field hospital and headquarters command center.
A Russian Navy tour of the Mistral provoked a mixture of envy and worry, as senior officers admired the ship’s capabilities but also showed concern that France could design and build such a capable vessel while Russian companies had been unable to match that, the French officer said.
Russia is acquiring four Mistral-class warships in a deal reported to be worth more than 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion). The acquisition stirred controversy among central European and Baltic nations in the wake of the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia.
The four-ship package compares to an estimated construction price of $600 million per ship. The French government has not disclosed price information on the Russian deal, but has said the sale meant 5 million work hours or jobs for 1,000 workers for four years at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard.
The first two ships will be built jointly by DCNS and shipbuilder STX at Saint-Nazaire, northern France. The third and fourth will be built by Russian company OSK at a new yard at Saint Petersburg, with the help of French technology transfer.
The French Navy’s Mistral took part in the extensive U.S. Navy Bold Alligator exercise off the coast of Norfolk, Va., earlier this year
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