Mistral-class amphibious assault ship

	BPC Dixmude in Jounieh Bay, Lebanon 2012.
Class overview
Name	Mistral class
Builders	DCNS; STX Europe;
Operators	Marine Nationale; Egyptian Navy;
Preceded by	Foudre class
Cost	€451.6 million (2012)
In commission	December 2005 – present
Planned	5
Completed	5
Active	5
General characteristics
Type	Amphibious assault ship
Displacement	16,500 tonnes (empty); 21,500 tonnes (full load);
Length	199 m (652 ft 11 in)
Beam	32 m (105 ft 0 in)
Draught	6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
Installed power	3 Wärtsilä diesel-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) + 1 Wärtsilä Vaasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW)
Propulsion	2 Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW), 2 five-bladed propellers
Speed	18.8 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range	10,800 km (5,800 nmi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph); 19,800 kilometres (10,700 nmi) at 15 knots (28 km/h);
Boats & landing ; craft carried	4 chaland de transport de matériel landing craft; EDA-R/S Amphibious Landing Craft (S models being delivered from 2021); Landing Craft Air Cushion (2 could be carried but not acquired by French Navy);
Capacity	70 vehicles (including 13 Leclerc tank) or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion
Troops	450 troops (or 250 troops plus a military staff of 200 men)
Complement	20 officers, 80 petty officers, 60 quarter-masters
Sensors and ; processing systems	DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 navigation radar; MRR3D-NG air/surface sentry radar; 2 optronic fire control systems;
Armament	2 × Simbad missile systems; 2 x 20 mm modèle F2 gun; 2 × 30 mm Breda-Mauser; 2 x 7.62mm M134 miniguns ; 4 × 12.7 mm M2HB Browning machine guns;
Aircraft carried	16 heavy or 35 light helicopters
Aviation facilities	6 helicopter landing spots

The Mistral class is a class of five amphibious assault ships built by France. Also known as helicopter carriers, and referred to as "projection and command ships" (French: bâtiments de projection et de commandement or BPC), a Mistral-class ship is capable of transporting and deploying 16 NH90 or Tiger helicopters, four landing craft, up to 70 vehicles including 13 Leclerc tanks, or a 40-strong Leclerc tank battalion, and 450 soldiers. The ships are equipped with a 69-bed hospital, and are capable of serving as part of a NATO Response Force, or with United Nations or European Union peace-keeping forces.

Three ships of the class are in service in the French Navy: Mistral, Tonnerre, and Dixmude. A deal for two ships for the Russian Navy was announced by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy on 24 December 2010, and signed on 25 January 2011. On 3 September 2014, French President François Hollande announced the postponement of delivery of the first warship, Vladivostok, in response to the Russia–Ukraine crisis. On 5 August 2015, President Hollande and Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that France would refund payments and keep the two ships; the two ships were later sold to Egypt.

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