/ world today news/ The purchase of the Mistral ships from Egypt is the most convenient and prosperous option for Russia, which is facing new prospects for the delivery of Ka-52K helicopters to this country, and with the funds returned by France, it will can build its own, more powerful ships, according to experts whose opinion is quoted by RIA Novosti.
Paris and Cairo on Saturday signed a contract to sell Egypt the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers that were originally intended for Russia.
The sale of the Mistrals to Egypt is a good option for Russia, as it opens up new prospects for military-technical cooperation with this country, according to the chief military advisor of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ivan Vasiliev.
“This development is beneficial for Russia, as we have nowhere to use these ships. For many years I have been in service in the Mediterranean Sea – we had our own landing ships and control ships there before, but such ships are not used in operations in the ocean,” Vasiliev said.
He noted that for Russia, Egypt is the most convenient and profitable buyer of the French helicopter carriers, as this deal opens up new prospects for the delivery of Ka-52K naval helicopters to Cairo.
“We, in my opinion, played a positive role in the fact that this deal was concluded precisely with Egypt, since we have good neighborly relations with that country. They have already ordered about 50 Ka-52 “Alligator” helicopters, according to the information I have, this contract has already been concluded, and it is quite possible that they will be produced in and in a ship version,” Vasiliev noted.
According to him, it seems that the losing country in the end is France, which has lost its reputation as a reliable supplier of weapons equipment and finally cemented its role as a “full-fledged satellite of the United States.”
Vasiliev added that with the money returned by France for non-fulfillment of the Mistral contract, Russia will be able to build its own amphibious ships with more powerful attack systems — cruise missiles, bomb launchers and anti-aircraft weapons.
The purchase of Russian helicopters to equip the Mistrals seems to be the optimal decision for the military-political leadership of Egypt, taking into account the long and successful history of military-technical cooperation with Russia and the fact that these ships are designed specifically for deployment of the Ka-52K, according to Igor Korotchenko, director of the Center for the Analysis of the World Trade in Arms (TsAMTO).
“After signing the contract for the purchase of the Mistrals, the most obvious option for Egypt is the purchase of Russian Ka-52K sea-based helicopters for the helicopter carriers,” Korotchenko said.
He added that such a decision by the Egyptian military-political leadership would be “the most balanced and optimal”, since the specified ships were built with the specific requirements for the deployment of Russian helicopters in mind.
“I am convinced that there will be no obstacles on the part of Russia, as we would be interested in new prospects for military-technical cooperation with Egypt, which is our partner in the Middle East,” noted Korotchenko.
The expert emphasized that Cairo’s support of Russia’s actions in Syria once again proves that relations between the two countries are developing in an extremely positive direction.
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