Russia and France should sign a contract for the sale of the Mistral helicopter carriers in 2011, Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin told reporters. The contract will be signed after the parties reach an agreement on the price, he said.

Russia and France announced on December 24, 2010 that an agreement had been signed for the construction of two Mistral-type amphibious assault ships in Saint-Nasaire and two under a license in Russia.

The Mistral multifunctional helicopter carrier has the standard displacement of 16 500 tons, a length of 199 meters, a beam of 32 meters and a draft of 6.2 meters. The maximum speed is 18.8 knots, and the voyage range is 19 800 miles.

The ship carries 16 helicopters (including eight landing helicopters and eight assault helicopters). Six helicopters can be placed on the ship’s deck simultaneously. Also, the ship carries four light landing cutters or two air-cushion landing cutters.

The cargo deck with a length of 122 meters and a width of 13.5 meters can carry up to 1 100 tons of cargo, up to 470 marines (900 on short distances), 40 tanks or 70 vehicles. The ship is armed with two Simbad air defense launchers, two 30-millimeter Breda-Mauser artillery systems and four 2.7-millimeter machine guns.

The ship has a hospital with 69 beds and carries up to 150 staff officers. The crew size is 160, including 20 officers.

The French Navy has two Mistral helicopter carriers and is building a third one.

According to unofficial sources, the ship costs about 600 million Euros.