First mistral class carrier, initially built for Russia, arrives in Egypt
One of the two mistral class helicopter carriers originally built for Russia by France was transferred to Egypt, the radio station France Bleu reported.
A ceremony took place in the port of Saint-Nazaire, during which an Egyptian flag was raised above the ship.The second ship will be delivered in September. This was previously reported by French military expert Philippe Chapleau, who also said that the mistral carriers were given Egyptian names.
"The former 'Sevastopol' and 'Vladivostok' will be named 'Gamal Abdel Nasser' and 'Anwar Sadat' in memory of the two presidents. They will be delivered to Egypt in June and September," Chapleau said.
In August of 2015, France announced that it would terminate its contract with Moscow for the two mistral carriers over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Egypt agreed to purchase the same ships in October.