Aircraft Carriers II (Closed to posting)

At a time when the U.S. Navy is trying to enlarge its fleet on a tight budget, a series of foreign ships offer thoughtful ideas about how that can be done.

France’s Mistral amphibious assault and command ship is a good example. Now participating in the massive Bold Alligator amphibious exercise off America’s East Coast Jan. 30-Feb. 13, she combines the commercial construction and automation to pack enormous capability into a relatively small and affordable package.

Able to carry up to 650 troops, up to 90 vehicles and between 16 heavy and 35 light helicopters, she has a crew of just 170 and costs about $600 million.

It’s hard to compare her to any U.S. vessel. She carries slightly fewer troops than an LPD-17-class amphibious ship at a third the cost and half the crew, but has a flight deck and aviation capabilities more akin to a Wasp-class assault ship at a sixth the cost and crew size.

Every vessel is the result of tradeoffs. Time will tell whether France made the right choices in a ship that compromises robustness for capacity and efficiency.

What is clear, however, is Mistral has spent most of the past four years at sea on real world missions, most recently off Libya more efficiently and at less cost than older warship designs.

Overall, Mistral is an attractive package that U.S. officials should check out more closely.

Click to expand...

navyreco said:

In case of "emergency" could a Harrier land on LPD-17 class or is the deck not strong enough ?

Click to expand...

PACIFIC OCEAN (July 26, 2009) Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland (LPD 7) conduct flight operations with AV/8-B Harrier aircraft assigned to the Sea Elks of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 166. Cleveland is assigned to the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG) and is underway conducting a Composite Training Unit Exercise in preparation for a scheduled deployment to the western Pacific Ocean later this year. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Grant P. Ammon/Released)

Click to expand...

HMS Liverpool escorting Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov
[Picture: LA(Phot) Ian Simpson, Crown Copyright/MOD 2012]

Click to expand...

bd popeye said:

Obi Wan or anyone.. can you give a better description of the pix below? What was the circumstance? They were posted by Ceriy of mp.net.

Click to expand...

navyreco said:

Is this CH53 on Mistral or is it most likely USS WASP in front of Mistral (with the elevators sticking out on each sides) ?

Click to expand...

120206-N-AP176-051 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Feb. 6, 2012) An SH-60B Sea Hawk helicopter and MV-22 Ospreys fly above the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) while a landing craft air cushion (LCAC) conducts operations in the water during exercise Bold Alligator 2012. Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, represents the Navy and Marine Corps' revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today's fight with today's forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. This exercise will take place Jan. 30 through Feb. 12, 2012 afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina. #BA12 (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff Atherton/Released)

Click to expand...

navyreco said:

Just an awesome looking pic:

Click to expand...