Egypt buys Mistral ships from France, but wants Russia to complete them

TASS news agency quoted a source from the Russian defense diplomatic agency as saying on April 20 that Cairo had sent a request for Moscow to equip the two Mistral-class heavy helicopter landing ships purchased from France with onboard electronic systems.

“The Egyptian defense delegation has sent a request to Rosoboronexport Company asking for Russia's help in completing and installing onboard electronic systems for two Mistral-class landing ships, including electronic warfare systems,” TASS news agency reported.

Mistral-class helicopter carrier.

Although the time of sending the request has not been specified, some recent sources said that Cairo is planning and listing the equipment it wants to equip on the Russian Mistral-class landing ship. The list was sent to Russia in April 2016.

It is currently unclear why Egypt wants Russia to complete the Mistral, rather than its French partner. Military experts say that Egypt has decided to equip the Mistral with Ka-52K helicopters, so choosing Russian electronic equipment is to optimize the price, as well as synchronize the equipment on the new landing ships.

In February 2016, Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation said that Russia was ready to help Egypt complete the Mistral-class landing ship. However, the onboard electronic equipment for Egypt’s Mistral ship will be different from the version previously planned for the Russian Navy.

In May 2015, France and Egypt signed a contract to supply two Mistral-class landing ships that were part of a failed contract with Russia. Due to the failed contract, France had to bear the entire cost of removing the on-board electronic equipment designed for the Russian Navy on these two warships. Along with that, Paris also had to return 949.7 million euros in contract deposits and the cost of building the assembly modules to Russia.

The qdnd.vn