Wednesday, December 23, 2009 äÅÓÁÎÔÎÙÅ ËÏÒÁÂÌÉ We have previously covered in detail Russia's interest in purchasing an amphibious ship from both France and the Netherlands. _base_d on the details of this Defense News article, we should have included Spain in that analysis, although there is a lot of similarity between the Dutch Rotterdam class and the Spanish Galicia class. Russia's interest in purchasing amphibious ships isn't solely about ships though, it is really about technology and industrial development with Russia's shipbuilding sector. Picking out some of the details in this RIA Novosti article we get a better feel for the reasons the Russians are keen on help from Europe. First lets establish the real Russian intention here:     The Russian side reiterated its position that it needs not just one warship but technology to enable it to build such ships at Russian shipyards, he said. More than anything else, Russia is looking to import skilled labor from Europe's shipbuilding sector to help fix the problems Russia has with specific technical skills but also experienced project management staff within their shipyards. The human element to bring skill and talent into the Russian shipbuilding industry is the major factor here, because the domestic production element will allow Russia to attempt a rebuild at just about the same time the Russian Navy disappears. The article goes on to discuss the Mistral class specifically:     The chief of the General Staff earlier said that Russia would decide by the end of 2009 whether to purchase a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship from France.     The Defense Ministry has said a final decision should be _base_d on a thorough assessment of the effectiveness of [French] technology in the _frame_work of domestic shipbuilding program. The assessment to determine if DCNS can build and manage a domestic production in Russia for at least 4 more of the ship class is only part of it, the technology transfer being the other part. The Mistral represents many things for Russia including technologies such as a modern command-and-control suite, combat data and management systems, automation technologies to allow for fewer crew members, and electric drive propulsion for surface vessels. While Russia has some experience with electric drive, the Mistral represents modern western naval architecture and insights into how to build better surface warships with electric drive. All of this will be critical to Russia if they are to rebound from the impending disappearance of the Russian Navy from the worlds oceans. Finally, lets examine the Russian view in context:     Russia's current arms procurement program through 2015 does not provide for construction or purchases of large warships, so the acquisition of a French warship is more likely under a new program, through 2020, which has yet to be developed. This is a very important detail to the entire discussion, because it takes the long view through the prism of economics and strategy and helps us understand how this might unfold. I am in full agreement with Alexander Khramchikhin. If you missed it, Dr. Dmitry Gorenburg translated this article on his Russian Military Reform blog.     [The Bulava's] effectiveness has turned out to be simply amazing. The missile has not entered serial production, and never will, but it has already destroyed the Russian Navy. Almost all the money allocated to the Navy's development have been spent on this mindless dead-end program.     Any person who can see the real situation well understands that in a few years the Russian Navy as a whole, as well as all four of its component fleets, will cease to exist. This is already absolutely inevitable