France agrees to fully equip Russian Mistral ships

MOSCOW (BNS): France has decided to fully equip the Russian Mistral Class helicopter carrier with a complete set of communication and control systems, a media report said.

"Russia has reached an agreement with France that meets the Defense Ministry's demand to provide Mistral with the communications and other systems that would satisfy the requirements of the navy," Ria Novosti quoting a senior official in the Defence Ministry said.

In January, an agreement was signed between Russia and France to build the two carriers equipped with Zenith 9 communication and control system, spare parts and technical documentation.

According to the report, the estimated price for the first two French-built ships ranges from 980 milllion euros to 1.15 billion euros.

The helicopter carriers will be built at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. Another two are to be built later at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg.

The Mistral class vessel is capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armoured vehicles, and 450 personnel.