Mistral-class landing helicopter dock
BPC Dixmude in Jounieh Bay, Lebanon 2012. | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mistral class |
| Builders | |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Foudre class |
| Cost | €451.6 million (2012) (equivalent to €512.9 million in 2022) |
| In commission | December 2005 – present |
| Planned | 5 |
| Completed | 5 |
| Active | 5 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Landing helicopter dock |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 199 m (652 ft 11 in) |
| Beam | 32 m (105 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) |
| Installed power | 3 Wärtsilä diesel-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) + 1 Wärtsilä Vasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW) |
| Propulsion | 2 Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW), 2 five-bladed propellers |
| Speed | 18.8 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Range |
|
| Boats & landing craft carried |
|
| Capacity | 70 vehicles (including 13 Leclerc tank) or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion |
| Troops | 450 troops (or 250 troops plus a military staff of 200 men) |
| Complement | 20 officers, 80 petty officers, 60 quarter-masters |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 16 heavy or 35 light helicopters |
| Aviation facilities | 6 helicopter landing spots |
The Mistral class is a class of five landing helicopter docks built by France. Also known as helicopter carriers, and referred to as "projection and command ships" (French: bâtiments de projection et de commandement or BPC) and "porte-hélicoptères amphibie" (PHA) since 2019, a Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing craft, up to 70 vehicles including 13 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers. The ships are equipped with a 69-bed hospital, and are capable of serving as part of a NATO Response Force, or with United Nations or European Union peace-keeping forces.
Three ships of the class are in service in the French Navy: Mistral, Tonnerre, and Dixmude. A deal for two ships for the Russian Navy was announced by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 24 December 2010, and signed on 25 January 2011. On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande announced the postponement of delivery of the first warship, Vladivostok, in response to the Russia–Ukraine crisis. On 5 August 2015, President Hollande and Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that France would refund payments and keep the two ships; the two ships were sold to Egypt within one month.