ENS Gamal Abdel Nasser

ENS Gamal Abdel Nasser (L1010) is an Egyptian Navy amphibious assault ship, a type of helicopter carrier, of the French-designed Mistral class. She was originally built for the Russian Navy and underwent sea trials.[9] 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.[10]

ENS Gamal Abdel Nasser in 2022
Russia
NameVladivostok
OrderedJune 2011
Builder
Laid down1 February 2012
Launched15 October 2013[1]
StatusSea trials completed, Contract cancelled
Egypt
NameGamal Abdel Nasser[2]
NamesakeGamal Abdel Nasser
Acquired23 September 2015[3]
Commissioned2 June 2016[4]
HomeportSafaga, Egypt[5]
Identification
StatusIn service[6]
General characteristics
Class and typeMistral-class amphibious assault ship
Displacement
  • 16,500 tonnes (empty)
  • 21,300 tonnes (full load)
  • 32,300 tonnes (with ballasts)
Length200 m (660 ft)
Beam32 m (105 ft)
Draught6.3 m (21 ft)
Installed power3 × Wärtsilä 16V32 (3 × 6,200 kW (8,300 hp))
Speed18.8 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)
Armament4 × AN/TWQ-1 Avenger mobile SAM (32 FIM-92 Stinger missiles)[7]
Aircraft carried
  • Former Russian aircraft:
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter deck and hangar

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, in Saint-Nazaire, on 1 February 2012 and in the Russian Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg in October 2012. Russia would send her parts to France for final assembly.[11] The ship was expected to join the Russian Navy in 2015.[12][13] The ship was launched on 15 October 2013.[14] The ship began her first sea trials on 5 March 2014.[15][16]

Savings in construction costs were anticipated, due to the use of commercial off the shelf parts, rather than requiring every system to be designed to military standards.[17][18]

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.[19]

The 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine triggered rising international criticism.[17][18] France was under political pressure from other nations to sanction Russia by cancelling or suspending delivery of the two Mistral-class vessels.

On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande released an announcement that France was suspending the delivery of Vladivostok to Russia due to the ongoing War in Donbass, Ukraine.[20]

By 13 September 2014, a partial ceasefire was in place in Ukraine. This improvement in conditions in Ukraine was sufficient for French authorities to allow Vladivostok to go to sea for her acceptance trials. French Defence Ministry sources said a decision on the delivery of Vladivostok would be taken by mid-November.[21] On 25 November, it was announced that delivery of the two ships was to be postponed indefinitely. Russia threatened legal action over the postponement.[22] In August 2015 the two governments reached agreement on terms for cancelling the contract; France would keep the ships and fully reimburse Russia.[23]

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.[24][25] 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.[26][27] Speaking on RMC Radio, Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Defence Minister, said that Egypt had already paid the whole price for the helicopter carriers.

On 2 June 2016, DCNS delivered the ex-Vladivostok, renamed Gamal Abdel Nasser. The flag transfer ceremony took place in the presence of Egyptian and French Navies' Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Rabie and Admiral Rogel, Hervé Guillou, chairman and chief executive officer of DCNS, Laurent Castaing, chairman and chief executive officer of STX France, and senior Egyptian and French officials. Before sailing to Alexandria, the ship participated in a joint exercise between the Egyptian and French Navies.[6] On 16 September 2016, DCNS delivered the second ship Anwar El Sadat which also participated in a joint exercise with the French Navy before arriving at her home port of Alexandria.[28]

Aircraft
Ka-52K Katran, the ship-based attack helicopter is likely to serve on Egypt's Mistral carriers.

Since receiving its two Mistral-class carriers, Egypt had issued an international tender for the procurement of new maritime helicopters. The Egyptian Navy and Air Force studied several offers for helicopters to use on both carriers.[29] European and Russian manufacturers entered the bidding procedure; NHIndustries and Airbus Helicopters were reported to have offered their NH90 and Tiger helicopters, while Russian Helicopters offered its Ka-52K helicopter.[30][31] By May 2017, the tender had reached its final stage, Russian Helicopters stated that it would immediately enter into pricing negotiations if the company won the tender. In June 2017, Russia announced it had won the tender to provide Ka-52K helicopters. The head of the FSVTS, Dmitry Shugayev, said that pre-contract work was underway, including final agreement on the helicopter's technical concept and other financial conditions.[32] Egypt is likely to buy the same package intended for the Russian Navy, which includes Ka-52K attack helicopters and Ka-29/31 utility helicopters, before the contract was cancelled by France.[33]

Military exercises

Cleopatra 2016

In June 2016, Gamal Abdel Nasser took part in military exercises jointly conducted by the Egyptian and French navies in the Mediterranean Sea. The drills were held under the code name Cleopatra 2016 and lasted for several days, they were the first for the ship after being delivered to Egypt earlier that month. The exercises included a number of activities such as both forces planning and managing naval combat missions.[34]

References
  1. "France Floats Out First Russian Mistral Warship | Defense | RIA Novosti". En.ria.ru. 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  2. "Saint-Nazaire Navires Mistral : le nom de Nasser s'affiche sur la coque". 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  3. Regan, James (23 September 2015). "Hollande, Sissi agree on sale of Mistral warships to Egypt". Reuters. Paris. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  4. "Egypt warship: First French-made Mistral ship handed over - BBC News". BBC News. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
  5. "Egypt's Sisi inspects southern naval fleet units at Port Safaga". 5 January 2017.
  6. "DCNS Delivers the First Mistral-Class Helicopter Carrier to the Egyptian Navy, The LHD Gamal Abdel Nasser". 2 June 2016.
  7. "Egyptian Mistrals using Avengers for air defence". 13 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  8. "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. Archived from the original on 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  9. "Mistral : sortie en mer du "Vladivostok" à Saint-Nazaire, des marins russes à bord" (in French). clicanoo.re. 13 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. "Egypt agrees to buy warships built for Russia from France". BBC News. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  11. "First Mistral Laid Down at Baltiysky Zavod Shipyard". Rusnavy.com. 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  12. "Vladivostok, Russian Navy future Mistral class LHD, specificities and characteristics(Navy recognition)". 17 March 2013.
  13. "Russia Moves Mistral Stern Construction to France". 21 June 2013.
  14. "DCNS launch Vladivostok, Russian Navy's first Mistral class LHD(Navy recognition)". 16 October 2013.
  15. News Desk (6 March 2014). "Vladivostok - Mistral Class LHD Bound for Russia Begins Sea Trials in the Atlantic". Defense Update. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  16. "Official: Delivery of First Mistral class LHD Vladivostok on hold until November". 3 September 2014.
  17. 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.
  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. "France, U.S. Discuss Russian Mistral Carrier Query | Defense News". defensenews.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  20. "Ukraine crisis: France halts warship delivery to Russia". Archived from the original on 2014-09-14. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  21. "Mistral delivery to Russia to be approved by mid-November". ITAR TASS. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  22. "Russia Mistral: France halts delivery indefinitely". BBC News. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  23. "Mistral warships: Russia and France agree compensation deal". BBC News. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  24. 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.
  25. "Egypt, Saudi Arabia 'desperate' to purchase Mistral warships". france24. 7 August 2015.
  26. Dalton, Matthew (23 September 2015). "France to Sell Two Mistral Warships to Egypt". Wall Street Journal.
  27. Cullinane, Susannah; Martel, Noisette (23 September 2015). "France to sell Egypt two warships previously contracted to Russia". CNN.
  28. "DCNS Delivers the Second Mistral-Class Helicopter Carrier to the Egyptian Navy, The LHD Anwar El Sadat". 16 September 2016.
  29. "Egypt is only Middle East country to own Mistral helicopter carriers". 8 October 2016.
  30. "NH90 or KA-52K: What helicopter for the Egyptian Mistral?". 24 September 2015.
  31. "Egypt still looking for helicopters for its PCBs". 29 April 2016.
  32. "Russia wins contest for providing deck helicopters Ka-52K for Egypt". 19 June 2017.
  33. "Egypt wants to buy Russian helicopters for the "Mistral"". 6 September 2016.
  34. "Egypt, France begin Cleopatra 2016 naval exercises with Mistral helicopter carrier". 20 June 2016.
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