Name Sevastopol Laid down 18 June 2013 Status contract cancelled Length 199 m | Ordered June 2011 Launched 20 November 2014 Name Anwar El Sadat Draft 6.3 m | |
 | ||
ENS Anwar El Sadat (L1020) is an Egyptian Navy amphibious assault ship, a type of helicopter carrier, of the French Mistral class. It was originally built in France for the Russian Navy as part of a contract for two of these warships and underwent sea trials. The contract with Russia was subsequently cancelled by France and an agreement on compensation was reached with the Russian government. Egypt and France eventually concluded a deal to acquire the two warships for roughly 950 million euros. Egypt is considered the first and only country in Africa and the Middle East to possess an aircraft carrier of such type.
Contents
History
The Russian government placed an order for this and another warship in 2011. The construction of these ships would be shared between both countries, with France building about 60 percent and Russia 40 percent. Work started in Saint-Nazaire, France, on 18 June 2013, and in the Russian Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg on 4 July 2013. Russia would send its parts to France for final assembly. The ship was originally expected to join the Russian Navy in 2015. After final assembly of the main structures in France the ship was then scheduled to go to St. Petersburg, Russia, for the outfitting of additional Russian-specific weapons and subsystems.
The Russian acquisition of these two French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships was considered to be the largest defense deal between Russia and the West since World War II.
In 2014, as criticism of Russian intervention in Ukraine grew, France came under increasing pressure to cancel or suspend the delivery of the two Mistral-class hulls, tentatively named Vladivostok and Sevastopol. Some commentators suggested France try to find alternative customers for the two vessels. In August, 2015, the two governments reached agreement on terms for cancelling the contract; France would keep the ships and fully reimburse Russia.
On 7 August 2015, a French diplomatic source confirmed that President Hollande had discussed the matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his visit to Egypt for the inauguration of the New Suez Canal in Ismailia. Subsequently, in October 2015, Egypt and France concluded a deal to acquire the two formerly Russian-bound warships for roughly 950 million euros, which included the costs of training Egyptian crews. Speaking on RMC Radio, Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Defence Minister, said that Egypt had already paid the whole price for the helicopter carriers.
Beginning in February 2016, 180 Egyptian sailors began training in Saint-Nazaire, France, on the newly renamed landing helicopter dock Gamal Abdel Nasser, with the support of the DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales Services) and STX France instructors and Défense Conseil International.
On 2 June 2016, DCNS delivered the first of these two helicopter carriers acquired by the Arab Republic of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser. The flag transfer ceremony took place in the presence of Egyptian and French Navies’ Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Rabie and Admiral Rogel, Hervé Guillou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DCNS, Laurent Castaing, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of STX France, and senior Egyptian and French officials. Gamal Abdel Nasser left Saint-Nazaire after a few days with associated support vessels. Before sailing to the vessel's home port of Alexandria, Egypt, the warship participated in a joint exercise between the Egyptian and French Navies. On 16 September 2016, DCNS delivered the second of the two helicopter carriers, Anwar El Sadat, which also participated in a joint exercise with the French Navy before arriving at its home port of Alexandria on the 6th of October 2016, coinciding with the country's celebrations of the 43rd anniversary of the 1973 October War against Israel.
Cleopatra 2016/2
In October 2016, Anwar El Sadat took part in military exercises jointly conducted by the Egyptian and French navies in the Mediterranean Sea. The drills were held under the code name Cleopatra 2016/2, they were the first for the ship after being delivered to Egypt the previous month. The exercises included a number of activities such as both forces planning and managing naval combat missions.