MOSCOW. Oct 4 (Interfax-AVN) - The first Mistral-class helicopter carrier "Vladivostok" will be launched on October 15 upon the assembly of its hull at the Saint-Nazaire shipyards in France, a source from STX France told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"The Vladivostok is due to be launched on October 15. Simultaneously the Saint-Nazaire shipyards will finish the construction of the bow of the second ship, the Sevastopol," the source said.
Both the Vladivostok and the Sevastopol are built in a piecemeal manner. SXT France contributes the bows and Baltiysky Zavod of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation constructs the aft, he said. The aft is towed to Saint-Nazaire to complete the assembly of the helicopter carrier's hull.
"After the fitting-out and trial period, the first helicopter carrier will be commissioned in the third quarter of 2014 and the second one a year later," the source said.
Baltiysky Zavod builds the aft of the first two helicopter carriers the Russian Defense Ministry has ordered to France.
Rosoboronexport and France's DCNS signed a contract to build the first two helicopter carriers in June 2011. The United Shipbuilding Corporation is a sub-contractor of STX France shipyards in Saint-Nazaire.
The Mistral-class helicopter carrier is 199 meters long and 32 meters broad. Its beam is 32 meters, a draught is 6.42 meters and a displacement is 22,600 tons. The helicopter carrier has a crew of 177 and can take aboard 481 passengers.