French Armed Forces

[seaspear]

Could these ships be of interest to Canada and Indonesia also

[seaspear]

I forgot to add if these ships were designed for Artic zones then another reason for Canada as they were looking for capability increase in that area

[xav]

Update 1: French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said this morning to RTL radio: "I am sure they will be a new purchaser, a number of countries already expressed their interest for the two vessels. The Initial price of the Mistrals was about 1.2 Billion Euros but the reimbursement is less than that amount."

Update 2: French President François Hollande said the agreement includes "exactly what Russia has paid" plus "training costs". He said the transaction was a "good agreement". Furthermore, he indicated that "no penalty" will be paid by France to Russia and assured that "France will have no difficulty to find a buyer for the two Mistrals". The French President said this while attending the inauguration of the new Suez Canal today in Egypt.
http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ew&id=2963

Most mentioned potential buyers include:

- Canada
- India
- Brazil
- Europe (EUNAVFOR to fight against illegal immigration). I personnaly don't believe in this one.

[The Armchair Soldier]

An unnamed "official" French source has claimed Egypt and Saudi Arabia are interested in the two Mistrals:

http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2 ... _3212.html

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

Oh god, please let the KSA buy them, please!

[Halidon]

Oh god, please let the KSA buy them, please!

Seen some speculation today that KSA will one one for themselves and quietly fund Egypt's purchase of the other. Not sure if there's any meat on that but found it interesting.

[~UNiOnJaCk~]

Oh god, please let the KSA buy them, please!

Seen some speculation today that KSA will one one for themselves and quietly fund Egypt's purchase of the other. Not sure if there's any meat on that but found it interesting.

I'm hoping that the KSA get at least one as i think it'd be quiet the comic to watch them attempt to play with it! Up a certain creek without the requisite paddle is the first thing that sprung to my mind when considering them trying to operate a capability like that

[arfah]

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[xav]

Tons of wild rumors... after the KSA/Egypt one (from Le Monde, a respectable paper citing sources in the negociations), now "a guy on a French defense discussion board with connections in the Navy" says Malaysia may get the used Mistral and Tonnerre and Marine (wich are 10+ years old) and Marine Nationale may keep the brand new ex-Russian vessels...

IMHO that's quite a stretch...

------------------------------------------------------
Pictures of d'Entrecasteaux in final outfitting at #Piriou shipyard. It is the first B2M Batiment Multi Mission for MarineNationale





I personnaly don't like they "civilian trawler" look at all but it is better than no ship at all I guess...

[The Armchair Soldier]

What about Thailand? They could replace Chakri Naruebet and get themselves a new Royal Yacht.

[Halidon]

Tons of wild rumors... after the KSA/Egypt one (from Le Monde, a respectable paper citing sources in the negociations), now "a guy on a French defense discussion board with connections in the Navy" says Malaysia may get the used Mistral and Tonnerre and Marine (wich are 10+ years old) and Marine Nationale may keep the brand new ex-Russian vessels...

IMHO that's quite a stretch...

Yes that would seem odd, though after Normandie was sold right out from under the MN I guess I'm more willing to believe it than I would otherwise. Wonder if either would get renamed Mistral to keep the name going in this scenario. On the plus side, fitting out the ships for their use would give the MN a great excuse/opportunity to enhance their self-defense capabilities a bit compared to the originals.

[xav]

Modernization of French Strategic Oceanic Force: Le Triomphant SSBN Now Fitted with M51 SLBM

On August 4, 2015, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) took over full responsibility and the effective command of ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Le Triomphant (S616). This transfer of responsibility is an important milestone following the refit period started in May 2013 for maintenance, repairs, modernization and adaptation to the M51 new generation submarine launched ballistic missile (SLMB). Le Triomphant will now start some trials at sea before returning in the operational cycle.
...
Le Triomphant, head of the class commissioned in 1997, returned to the French Navy SSBN base of L'île Longue on April 14, 2015, following 20 months of work at the DCNS shipyard in Brest naval base. Work focused on the upgrade of the missile launch system. The SSBN is switching from the M45 SLBM to the new generation M51 SLBM. The submarine was also fitted with the new SYCOBS tactical combat system (a new combat management system common to Barracuda class SSN and the Le Triomphant class) and an overall more efficient navigation system (SGN-3E). Le Triomphant will also be able to deploy the F21 new generation heavyweight torpedo for self defense once procured by the French Navy. Finally, this periodic downtime was an important step for the Le Triomphant since this was her mid-life refit.

more at http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ew&id=2989

[xav]

A French Navy / @MarineNationale Super Etendard Modernisé fires an AS30L air to surface missile

[The Armchair Soldier]

Excellent photo.

[Pseudo]

Excellent photo.

Does this missile have a replacement in the works yet? It looks like something Sea Venom/ANL could replace, though I don't think it has been designed for fixed-wing platforms. It would be nice if they did make it compatible with fixed wings, though. It would give us an air-launched AShM for our F-35's.

Aren't they still collaborating on Perseus?

Sent from my personal sentence mangler.

[The Armchair Soldier]

Excellent photo.

Does this missile have a replacement in the works yet? It looks like something Sea Venom/ANL could replace, though I don't think it has been designed for fixed-wing platforms. It would be nice if they did make it compatible with fixed wings, though. It would give us an air-launched AShM for our F-35's.

Aren't they still collaborating on Perseus?

Sent from my personal sentence mangler.

Damn you for quoting me before I had the chance to remove the rest of my post. I wrongly assumed AS-30 was an AShM, when it's actually an air-to-ground missile designed for bunkers and bridges.

As for Perseus, I'm really not sure but I hope so.

[Pseudo]

Excellent photo.

Does this missile have a replacement in the works yet? It looks like something Sea Venom/ANL could replace, though I don't think it has been designed for fixed-wing platforms. It would be nice if they did make it compatible with fixed wings, though. It would give us an air-launched AShM for our F-35's.

Aren't they still collaborating on Perseus?

Sent from my personal sentence mangler.

Damn you for quoting me before I had the chance to remove the rest of my post. I wrongly assumed AS-30 was an AShM, when it's actually an air-to-ground missile designed for bunkers and bridges.

As for Perseus, I'm really not sure but I hope so.

If you'd like you can go on a mad deleting spree to save your blushes.

As for Perseus, I really hope it gets in to service, but it does sound a bit too good for it to actually happen.

Sent from my personal sentence mangler.

[xav]

This is probably an old photo...

With the SEM being retired (i guess next year or 2017 at latest) so will AS30L. This missile is quite old.

Rumor has it the last few operational missiles were all used during Libya (after a rare picture or video showed a Rafale M launching with one under wing).

And last but not least, I am pretty sure AS30 could be use against surface vessels no ?

[xav]

2nd largest vessel in the MN fleet... yes, it is larger than a Mistral LHD

French Navy Missile Range Instrumentation Ship Monge (A601) Operational Following Major Refit

The Missile Range Insrumentation Ship Monge (A601) is back in the Marine Nationale (French Navy) fleet following a major refit started in May. Missile Range Instrumentation Ships are fitted with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets.
...
In addition to the installation of a new kitchen, the Monge refit was use to:
- replace the entine satellite communication (SATCOM) system. The Monge is now compatible with "Syracuse III", the latest standard of French military secure SATCOM system;
- conduct the maintenance of diesel alternators and propulsion engines;
- conduct the maintenance of various pumps and compressors

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ew&id=3010

[Halidon]

Yeah missile range ships tend to start at "big" and go up from there, lol.

[xav]

NH Industries Delivered the 14th NH90 NFH Caiman Helicopter to the French Navy

NH Industries delivered the last NH90 NFH Caiman in "Step B" standard to the French Navy (Marine Nationale) on July 17, 2015. It is the fourteenth Caiman delivered out of the 27 on order by the French Navy.
Following the usual maintenance operations before its induction, the maritime helicopter was transferred to the 33F flotilla (naval helicopter squadron) in Lanvéoc-Poulmic naval air station (Brittany) on August 12, 2015. This brings to five the number of Caimans in this flotilla.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ew&id=3025

[The Armchair Soldier]

First strike by an Atlantique II against Islamic State in Iraq:

[xav]

^ Yeah I am about to publish something on that

edit:
First Air Strike with GBU-12 Against ISIL in Iraq for French Navy ATL2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

The Marine Nationale (French Navy) announced that one of its Atlantique 2 (ATL 2) Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) taking part in Operation Chammal (name of the French military operation in Iraq against ISIL) hit a target with a GBU-12 laser guided bomb. The strike mission which took place on August 19 2015 was a first for a French Navy MPA during Operation Chammal.

According to the French Navy, the ATL2 MPA joined two French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) Mirage 2000 around 22h00. Together they participated in a planned mission that led to the neutralization of a building belonging to terrorist group Daech. The building was used for transit operations and as a command and control post.

http://www.navyrecognition.com/index.ph ... ew&id=3028

[arfah]

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[SKB]

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /71651330/

Mistral class to the UAE?

And Egypt, apparently.