France has no choice but to supply the first Russian helicopter carrier Vladivostok this year, and the second carrier Sevastopol in 2015. Most likely, one of them will be deployed by the Black Sea Fleet, and the other one by the Pacific Fleet. In the future, Russia will need to create new missile destroyers and cruisers that can protect Russian national interests.

       Late last week, a group of U.S. Congress members told NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen that the United States is ready to buy or rent two Mistral-class helicopter carriers that are being built by France for Russia. Such a move is nothing if not disconcerting as the North Atlantic Alliance does not have its own armed forces. They may come under its command, as was done, for example, in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), but military forces remain under respective national commands at all times.

       NATO’s annual budget totals about 2 billion euros. Recently, over 500 million euros from this amount have been allocated to maintain its own infrastructure, 300 million euros to cover administrative expenses, and another 1 billion euros to conduct military operations, primarily in Afghanistan.

       The contracts to supply two French-made helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy that were signed in June 2011 and have already been largely paid for are worth 1.2 billion euros. Brussels simply doesn’t have this kind of money, and it can’t be allocated specifically for these purposes under the existing regulations.

       The U.S. Congress believes that the acquisition of ships of this type will strengthen NATO's capabilities and push many NATO members to increase military spending and support NATO partners in Central and Eastern Europe. However, if the United States is so keen on strengthening NATO's capabilities, it could go ahead and outbid the Mistral helicopter carriers. However, Washington doesn't have the money for this either and is reluctant to buy helicopter carriers that it doesn’t need. The Europeans are accustomed to the fact that the United States carries the military burden for them to the point where Europe is unable to conduct major military operations without it. The war in Libya against Muammar Qaddafi (2011) is a case in point.

       In fact, no one needs the French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships except Russia. Otherwise, at least one of them would have been sold to another foreign customer.

       That's why Paris has repeatedly stated that it intends to execute the Mistral contracts with Russia and strictly follow the construction schedule.

       Breaching these contracts will not only force the French to return significant amounts of money and scrap at least 700 jobs, but also result in paying a cancellation penalty that may amount to the cost of two hulls of these ships that can be later completed at Russian shipyards. The loss of goodwill may be even more significant and lead to a drop in French arms exports.

       Russia didn’t need the Mistrals in their original design. For example they were intended for use only by helicopters manufactured by the French-German consortium Eurocopter. At Russia’s request, the helicopter carrier was redesigned.

       In particular, the steel alloy used for hulls was upgraded to the ice-class, making these ships operational in northern latitudes. The warships became taller to accommodate Russia’s Ka-28 and Ka-52K helicopters. The ships now have more space to mount additional weapons, such as air defense facilities, rapid-fire artillery equipment and large-caliber automatic equipment to hold off attacks from the sea. This will make it possible to use the helicopter carriers at sea with fewer surface screen units.

       Thus, France has no choice but to supply the first Russian helicopter carrier Vladivostok this year, and the second carrier Sevastopol in 2015. Most likely, one of them will be deployed by the Black Sea Fleet, and the other one by the Pacific Fleet. This will allow the Russian Navy to conduct amphibious operations far from Russian shores, which will be a major step forward.

       In the future, Russia will need to create new missile destroyers and cruisers that can protect Russian national interests in the offshore maritime zone, including the Mediterranean Sea and some areas of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Only then will it regain its status of a naval power. The acquisition of French helicopter carriers is just the first step on this difficult path.

       This article was originally published in Russian on www.ria.ru

       Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.