Egypt: First ex-Russian Mistral arrives in Egypt for start of drills

A Mistral-class ship belonging to the Egyptian Navy and named after former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser arrived in Alexandria, Thursday, after setting off from Saint-Nazaire in France.
The warship is to participate in joint drills in the Mediterranean Sea, organised by the French and Egyptian navies.
The vessel is the first of two warships originally built for Russia that were later sold to Egypt. French authorities agreed to sell the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Egypt in 2015. The 'Gamal Abdel Nasser' was called the 'Vladivostok' before it was handed over to the Egyptian Navy. The second ship, the 'Anwar Sadat,' is expected to arrive in Egypt in September. Egypt reportedly paid €950 million ($1.06 billion) for the two vessels.
In 2011 Russia ordered the construction of two helicopter carriers of the 'Mistral' class, costing €1.12 billion ($1.6 billion). The building work was divided between Russia and France, with the latter undertaking the larger part of the work. The ships were earmarked for delivery to Russia in 2014, but the consignment was cancelled due to EU-imposed sanctions. Paris reimbursed Moscow €950 million ($1 billion) after the deal collapsed and later signed the agreement to sell the ships to Egypt.
Video Courtesy of Egyptian Ministry of Defence