French Warship Deliveries to Russia Not Affected by Sanctions

Mistral-class amphibious assault ship

The delivery of two French warships to Russia will not be affected by the current EU sanctions imposed in light of the situation in Ukraine, French Permanent Representative to the UN Gerard Araud told ."At the moment they are not affected by the sanctions," he said, adding that the sanctions are only target individuals.

"Of course, if there are new sanctions, they should be respected, but so far sanctions do not affect the deliveries," Araud confirmed.In 2011, Russia and France signed a contract worth 1.2 billion euros for the construction of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy. The first ship, the Vladivostok, built at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, is due to be delivered by the end of the year and the second, the Sevastopol, is scheduled to be handed over next year.

The ships, to be commissioned into Russia's Pacific Fleet, are capable of each carrying 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 soldiers.


http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140430/189483772/French-Warship-Deliveries-to-Russia-Not-Affected-by-Sanctions.html

France, Peru Sign Bilateral Agreement for Airbus Spy Satellite

Peru's defense ministry has awarded a contract to Airbus Defence and Space for construction and launch of Lima's first Earth observation satellite, according to the French defense ministry.
The bilateral agreement signed April 24 between Peru and France covers supply of the optical high-resolution spacecraft, a ground control segment for data reception and image processing, as well as a comprehensive training program.

Peru's investment in the project amounts to €150 million ($207 million). The satellite is expected to be launched in 2016.
France says the deal has been in the works since November 2013, when Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala during a visit to Lima.

“The willingness of France to develop the strategic partnership with Peru has been the subject of ongoing contacts between the two governments,” the French defense ministry said in an April 24 statement, citing a May 2013 visit to Peru by Kader Arif, head of France's ministry of veterans affairs.

France Sends Rafale Combat Jets to Poland

Image: Wikipedia

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Poland's Malbork air base April 29 to attend a ceremony marking the deployment of four Rafale combat jets there, and to meet with French airmen who will operate the aircraft over the next four months.

From the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, France has offered to send E-3F Sentry airborne early warning aircraft (AWACS) and fighters in support of NATO air capabilities. Since early April, French AWACS have been conducting surveillance missions for the alliance in eastern Europe, mainly over Poland and Romania.

As of April 28, the four Rafale C jets will be stationed at Poland's 22nd tactical air base in Malbork as part of a dual mission: Training the Polish air force in air policing; and to be available at NATO's request for policing Baltic airspace.
The four planes will serve as a complement to aircraft already committed by NATO to the Air Baltic mission.


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French Warship to Enter Black Sea

An F70 type anti-submarine frigate of the French Navy, the Dupleix, will enter the Black Sea this weekend, according to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.

The frigate will replace the US Navy’s destroyer USS Donald Cook, which is currently positioned in the western part of the Black Sea.Arrival of the French ship will keep NATO’s presence in the region at three ships, those being US Navy frigate USS Taylor, guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook and the French ship Dupuy de Lôme (A759).

USS Donald Cook arrived in the Black Sea on 10 April and she is due for departure from the area today, on April 24th.French frigate Dupleix is a Georges Leygues-class frigate and she features 129 meters in length.
She has a displacement of 4,500 tons when fully loaded and can reach a speed of 35 knots.

http://charly015.blogspot.com

Morocco Receives Three Fighter Jets from France

Boosting the military corporation between the two strategic partners, France put three Mirage F1- B jet fighters in the service of the Moroccan Royal Air Force after the French Air Force tested them.Moroccan pilots will deploy the old fighter aircrafts in Royal Air Force exercises, according to Almassa.

According to the same source, the distinctive single-engine fighters were handed to the Moroccan army after Dassault Aviation, the manufacturing company, improved the fighter’s traditional delta wing design in order to facilitate the ability to use rudimentary runways.
Last year, the Mirage F1- B was deployed to support the Baltic Air Policing mission in Lithuania and the French-led operation against extremists in Mali.Since 1966, this type of fighter jet has been exported by Dassault Aviation to the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and Northern Africa, particularly Libya and Morocco.

These three aircrafts will boost the Mirage F1- B collection of the Royal Air Force, which has already acquired 27 jet fighters of this kind.



http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/04/128978/morocco-receives-three-fighter-jets-from-france/

Indian and French air forces to have joint exercise 'Garuda-5' from June 3, 2014

File Photo: IAF

Indian and French air forces to have joint exercise 'Garuda-5' from June 3, 2014 at Rajasthan's Jodhpur airbase from June 3 for air superiority operations.Four Rafale multi-role fighter aircraft and one air-refueller aircraft with more than 100 personnel would form the French delegation.

The training consisting of air to air refuelling, basic and advanced fighter interceptions, protection of high-value aerial targets and group combat manoeuvring would be the main focus of the exercise.Both the Indian Air Force and French Air Force would be engaged in various missions ranging from close combat engagement of large forces, slow mover protection, and protecting and engaging high-value aerial assets in the exercise at the strategic airbase near Indo-Pak border, they said.

French navy announces first women to serve on submarines

Women are to be allowed to serve on nuclear submarines in the French Navy from 2017, the French Minister of Defence announced today.The first three candidates will begin training next year, and if the experience is successful the job will be opened up to women, explained Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday.Until now, women in the French Navy have been barred from submarine duty, which involves two and a half months without interruption under water, twice a year.

Among the physical risks of submarine life is an elevated level of carbon dioxide, which is apparently more likely to harm women than men.Few people of either sex are suited to a lifestyle which involves long periods away from loved ones back on land and little privacy aboard.

In February a book on sexual harassment in the French army created considerable concern.
No such book about the French navy has been written but the importance of good professional relationships between the sexes in the confined space of a submarine is paramount.At the moment, only nuclear weapons-carrying submarines are large enough to accommodate women but all French submarines built or renovated from 2018 will be equipped with facilities for women.

Since 1993 France’s naval school has trained around ten female officers per year and of those, only 23 have commanded or are now commanding vessels.Many women as well as men turn down operational jobs for the sake of their family lives at around the ages of 30-35, when they might be ready to take command.


http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20140415-french-navy-announces-first-women-serve-submarines

French EC-725 Caracal combat helicopters refuel from Italian Hercules C130J

French spy ship FS Dupuy de Lôme with ELINT equipment Passed Through Turkish Straits

French spy ship FS Dupuy de Lôme passing through the Bosphorus. Photo: Kerim Bozkurt.

Lot of activity in the Black Sea it seems

Read more at :
http://turkishnavy.net/2014/04/11/fs-dupuy-de-lome-passed-through-turkish-straits/

French warship in Marmaris, Turkey

French Durance class underway replenishment tanker A-608 FS Var arrived in Marmaris in the morning hours on 5 April 2014.

Although it was not disclosed how long the ship will stay in Marmaris, it is safe to assume that the port visit will take at least 3 days. It was reported that FS Var is going back to France after completing her deployment for NATO’s Active Endeavor in Eastern Mediterranean.

Read more:
http://www.yeniasir.com.tr/Yasam/2014/04/05/fransiz-savas-gemisi-marmariste

French Warship FS Alizé Passed Through Bosphorus

French Warship FS Alizé Passed Through Bosphorus to take part in joint sea rescue exercises in Bulgaria.

Photos: Mr. Kerim Bozkurt
http://turkishnavy.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/kb-14-03-27-gemi-0019.jpg

MBDA Anti-Ship missile: UK and France sign contract for Anti-Ship Missile

Contract for FASGW(H)/ANL (Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy)/ Anti Navire Léger)  worth  £500 million.

Royal Navy’s AW159 Lynx Wildcat with new missile

This jointly funded Anglo-French contract for developing a Anti-Ship Missile, valued at more than £500 million has been awarded to MBDA by the UK and French and UK MODs and will be managed as part of MBDA’s Team Complex Weapons Portfolio.

This Contract will also benefit the capability and export potential of those European helicopter platforms which will integrate the FASGW(H)/ANL system over the coming years.

FASGW(H)/ANL will equip the Royal Navy’s AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters and the French Navy’s maritime helicopters. Weighing around 100kg, this modern primarily anti-ship missile will destroy from safe stand-off ranges vessels ranging from FIAC (Fast Inshore Attack Craft), through medium sized FAC (Fast Attack Craft) up to large vessels such as Corvettes. This missile also has a surface attack capability against coastal and land targets.

DCNS Showcasing its GOWIND combat multimission corvette at DIMDEX 2014

The Gowind Combat is the top-of-the-range from the Gowind Family. It is a multimission ship with capabilities of a light frigate, offering unrivalled operational capabilities, including full anti-submarine (ASW) capabilities (with a comprehensive sonar suite, decoys and weapons), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), electronic warfare (EW) and anti-air warfare (AAW). It incorporates DCNS’ know-how in stealth design, including low radar, acoustic and infrared signatures.

France Should Return Money if Warship Deal Cancelled – Dmitry Rogozin - Russian deputy premier

France should either fulfill its contract obligations under a June 2011 contract to deliver two Mistral-class warships to the Russian navy or return the money, a Russian deputy premier said on Wednesday.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday that Paris will consider canceling the 1.2-billion-euro deal if Moscow provokes further escalation in Ukraine.The remarks came after the US and EU imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials following a referendum in Ukraine's Crimea in which voters overwhelmingly supported secession and reunification with Russia.“Either stick to your contract obligations and deliver the warships in time, or return the money and parts of these warships’ hulls, assembled at our Baltiysky Zavod [shipyard],” said Dmitry Rogozin, a deputy premier in charge of the defense industry.

France will also have to pay huge penalties if it chooses to unilaterally terminate the contract.Under a June 2011 contract signed between Russia and France, the first French Mistral-class amphibious assault ship, named Vladivostok, will be delivered to Russia by the year-end, while the second warship, the Sevastopol, is due to arrive in 2015.

The ships are capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 soldiers and are expected to be deployed with Russia’s Pacific Fleet.

France Offers 4 Warplanes for Baltic Air Patrols

France is offering to send warplanes to help provide air patrols over the Baltic states and Poland, officials said Friday, amid growing tensions between the West and Russia and despite a looming big-ticket military deal between Paris and Moscow.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, visiting NATO allies Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, announced France's willingness to support an alliance air-patrol mission in the Baltic states. The announcement suggested France was lining up with the most hawkish countries in the European Union over Russia's attempt to annex the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine — a move that has spooked some other former Soviet republics that are now independent nations.

The offer echoed those of the United States and Britain.

"France has heard the requests of its allies, and I told my Estonian colleague that France is ready to strengthen air defenses ... by sending four fighters from the French air force," Le Drian told reporters in the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

A French contribution could also include air support for fellow NATO member Poland, and include warplanes, AWACs surveillance aircraft and radar, a French defense official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Le Drian said the AWACs would operate out of bases near the crisis area — "particularly in Poland and Romania."

Despite the tensions, officials in Paris have said that France still plans to go through with a three-year-old deal to provide two warships to Russia — the first of which is set for delivery in October. The 1.2-billion-euro ($1.6-billion) deal marked the biggest-ever sale of NATO military hardware to Moscow.

Marine Nationale (French Navy) and US Navy joint Aircraft Carriers deployment

Pictures of USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group combined operations with the French navy's Task Force 473 (with the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier) in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. 

The French Navy likely named the Operation “Bois Belleau” (Belleau Wood, a famous WWI battle that took place in France and involved the US Army and US Marine Corps) because some major joint Marine Nationale (French Navy) – U.S. Navy maneuvers and exercises are planned. According to the French Navy, operation Bois Belleau will enable the French and US navies to reach the highest level of cooperation to date. The U.S. Carrier Battle Group formed around the Nimitz class Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman, will be present in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf at the same time. There will be a joint deployment and close cooperation for five weeks between the two CVBGs. France and the United States are leading strategic partners and the only nations to deploy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers capable of projecting massive fire-power.

The presence of the Charles de Gaulle will also be an opportunity for the French Navy to conduct high-level cooperation with partner countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.