Military Procurement International Vol. 19, No. 9, May 1, 2009
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
9, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
FRANCE
Third
amphibious assault ship ordered
On April 16, the French DGA national
armaments directorate ordered a third Mistral class Batiment
de Projection et de Commandement (BPC), or large amphibious assault ship,
for the French Navy. Construction
will be conducted by prime contractor STX
France Cruise SA, at its yard in Saint-Nazaire, while its co-contractor,
Government-owned DCNS, will produce
the ship’s integrated combat system.
The overall value of the
contract is reported to be €420 million (US$560 million), of which 75% will go
to STX and 25% to DCNS.
Each of the 21,000t BPCs can accommodate 450 troops (or 900 in austere conditions), 16 medium helicopters, 60 armoured vehicles (or 13 Main Battle Tanks), and either two hovercraft or four medium landing craft.