Russian Navy Chief: Helo Carrier Search Could Expand
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: 11 Sep 2009 09:19
MOSCOW - The Russian Navy may expand its search for a new helicopter-carrier to other NATO members, while still negotiating to buy one of France's latest Mistral-class vessels, its chief said Sept. 11.
Naval Commander-in-Chief Adm. Vladimir Vysotski, quoted by Russian news agencies, said, "I confirm that negotiations for the purchase of a Mistral are under way, but it is highly probable that tenders will be sought.
"Several countries in the world possess similar technology, including in particular the Netherlands and Spain."
He added, "We will not only buy the helicopter-carrier but also the technology for building it."
Vysotsky said that a Mistral-type warship, which can carry 16 heavy helicopters, landing-craft and troops as well as acting as a command and control vessel, would greatly enhance the Russian Navy's fighting capacity.
"During the events of August 2008 [when Russia fought a brief war with Georgia], such a ship would have enabled the Russian Black Sea Fleet to have accomplished its mission in 40 minutes instead of 26 hours," he claimed.
The Russian armed forces chief of staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said last month that Moscow planned to buy a Mistral in an unprecedented deal experts said reflected Kremlin efforts to accelerate military modernization.
Makarov also said Russia wanted to forge a deal with France on joint production of at least four or five ships of the same class.
He did not name a price, but the Russian government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported earlier that one ship would cost 700 million euros ($995 million).
Makarov, an influential proponent in Russia of modernizing the country's conventional armed forces quickly through procurement from Western suppliers, admitted the military needs equipment that Russia cannot produce at present.
Since World War II, Russia has insisted on producing all military hardware for its own use and export, but it has been falling behind the West.
Pavel Felgenhauer, a noted Russian military analyst and commentator on defense issues, commenting on the deal last month, mentioned Georgia, the Crimea peninsula in Ukraine and the Baltic states as areas where the ship could be used effectively for landing special forces onshore and other operations.
All are ex-Soviet states who now belong to or wish to join NATO and have tense relations with Moscow.
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