DVKD "Dokdo" as an alternative to "Mistral": USC defends the interests of the Russian shipbuilding industry to the Ministry of Defense
As is known, the French side, in negotiations with Russia, insists on the production in France of two Mistral DCACs and the transfer of a license to build two more ships of this class in Russia. And the main subcontractors for the licensed program will also be French companies. In this scenario, the lion's share of the funds will go to French manufacturers, and this is huge money.
Moreover, according to TsAMTO, the Ministry of Defense would ideally prefer even the option of building all four ships in France. According to representatives of the Ministry of Defense, this will significantly speed up the terms of work and make the program cheaper. That is, the Russian industry in this project is initially assigned a secondary role.
The subtext of the USC proposal clearly shows a firm intention to obtain from the Ministry of Defense an open tender for the purchase of ships of this class, including with the participation of Russian developers.
“We expect that the Ministry of Defense, in view of the alternative that has appeared, will hold a clear and open tender for the construction of ships of this specification for the Russian Navy. Moreover, the assurances that such a competition will be announced by the Ministry of Defense previously sounded, "- said in the message of USC.
The USC report says that the Dokdo type DVKD can be built on USC capacities for 36 months.
At the same time, and this is a key element of the USC proposal, “in the case of the design of the Russian analogue, the total work period will increase by only 18 months. At the same time, the USK is ready to design a fully Russian ship of this type with long-term planning for the rearmament of the Russian Navy. ”
That is, the USC offers the Ministry of Defense two options - either licensed production of DVKD of the “Dokdo” type at USC capacities, if the urgency of the work is in the foreground, or designing and building a ship of this class in Russia, if we are talking about a long-term program for purchasing the Russian Navy of ships of this class .
The USC reasonably justifies its position, in particular, on the obvious advantage of the choice of “Dokdo” compared to “Mistral”. It emphasizes that the choice in any case should be made based on the results of the tender.
As noted in the message, “the main advantage of this option is that USC, within the framework of a joint venture with the Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marin Engineering” (Zvezda-DSME), has the opportunity to purchase a license for this ship and its construction in Russia. Production of "Mistral" in France at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaré will actually be an order from the same Korea, since the French shipyard is owned by the Korean company STX. But it is more profitable for Russia to produce such a ship in the framework of a joint venture created under control from the Russian state.
According to USC, the cost of building Dokdo in Russia is estimated at 450 million dollars. The cost of "Mistral" according to data voiced by the Ministry of Defense, will be 600 million euros. “We consider it reasonable to consider a more financially advantageous proposal,” they say in the USC.
In addition, the DVKD Dokdo is a more modern ship of this class, and surpasses the French DVKD Mistral in a number of basic tactical and technical characteristics, the ICC reports.
That is why USC offers to build ships of this class at Russian shipyards belonging to the United Shipbuilding Corporation. OSK guarantees high quality of work and their execution in the required period.
According to the USC report, the proposal on behalf of the USC President Roman Trotsenko addressed to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Anatoly Serdyukov received 3 March 2010 of the year. 25 February 2010, a similar proposal was sent to the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Vladimir Vysotsky.
The USC’s appeal was the second “open” expression of protest by Russian shipbuilders against the Ministry of Defense’s non-alternative intention to purchase a Mistral-type DVKD.
Last week, the Yantar Shipyard appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) with a request to look into the legality of the planned purchase of Mistral helicopter carriers by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In accordance with the general procedure for public procurement, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation should announce a tender for the purchase of DVKD. In this case, France, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea (together with USC) and, possibly, a number of Russian enterprises may also become potential bidders.
The Defense Ministry still does not have a clear answer to the question of why the French project was given preference. For example, the French project DVKD "Mistral" in 2007, lost to the Spanish company "Navantia" tender for the supply of two DVKD for the Australian Navy. Obviously, the reason for the loss of the Mistral DVKD in the tender of the Australian Navy must be carefully analyzed before making a final decision on the purchase of DVKD from one manufacturer or another, especially without a formal announcement of the tender, and direct purchase.
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South Korea
The South Korean Navy launched the first Dokdo amphibious helicopter ship in the 2005 year and put it into service in the 2007 year. By 2016, the Navy plans to adopt two more ships of this class.
The Dokdo class amphibious assault ship is a ship with a length of 199 m, a width of 31 m and a maximum displacement of 19 thousand tons, the speed of 23 knots (43 km/h). The ship is equipped with modern radar equipment and a system Defense. The DVKD can carry up to 700 people, 10 tanks, an air group of 10-12 helicopters and two hovercraft.
DVKD "Dokdo" after a small modification of the deck can also be used as a light aircraft carrier with a small air group.
France
On service the French Navy has two Mistral DVKD. The contract for their construction was signed with DCNS in January 2001. The total cost of the agreement was 428,5 million dollars (in 2001 prices of the year).
The lead ship of the Mistral series (L9013) was laid down on 10 July 2003, launched on 6 October 2004 and delivered to the French Navy on 15 December 2006. Construction of Tonnaire began in December 2004. The ship was launched on 25 June 2006 and delivered to the French Navy in March 2007.
In April 2009, as part of the French government’s plan to stimulate the defense industry, contracts were signed with STX France and DCNS for the construction of a third Mistral LPD for the French Navy. The estimated value of the agreement is €420 million (US$554 million). The keel-laying ceremony for the LPD, named Dixmund, took place on 20 January 2010 at STX France’s Cruise facility in Saint-Nazaire. Testing of the third Mistral-class vessel is expected to begin in May 2011. The LPD is scheduled to be commissioned into service by the French Navy in 2012. Two more LPDs may be built for the French Navy in the future.
The Mistral-class long-range submarine is a ship with a length of 199 m, a width of 32 m, a displacement of 21600 t and a draft of 6,2 m. The ship's main propulsion system consists of four Vartsila diesel generators with a total capacity of 20,8 MW, which provide electricity to two Alstom-Mermaid rotary propulsion motors. The vessel's electric propulsion system allows it to reach a speed of 19 knots. The sea crossing range at a speed of 15 knots is 11 nautical miles. The high level of automation allowed the ship's crew to be reduced to 160 permanent personnel.
The ship's design includes the ability to install two Simbad MANPADS launchers with Mistral SAMs, two 30-mm Breda-Mauser artillery mounts and four 12,7-mm MN-2V machine guns.
On deck area 5200 square. m are placed 6 helicopters weighing up to 16 t type NH-90 or "Tiger". Even before 10 helicopters can be in the cargo hangar.
DVKD can transport 450 fully equipped military, 60 light armored vehicles, or 13 MBT "Leclerc." The ship is equipped with an internal dock in which two amphibious assault boats on an air cushion of LCAC type or four tank landing craft of the STM type are placed.
The Mistral-class ships can be used as a landing-helicopter dock ship, a floating hospital, an evacuation vessel for humanitarian missions, and also as a command and control ship. The equipment includes a three-coordinate radar, the Syracuse-3, Inmarsat and Fleetsatcom satellite communication stations, the Zenit-9 automated combat control system, and the SIC-21 information and command system.
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