France to Help Russia Design Submarines?

29.10.2007 DCNS, the French naval defence group, and Rosoboronexport, the Russian State company which performs the international activity for the benefit of the Russian defence, have just signed a purchase general contract. The purpose is to develop technical co-operation for R&D between the Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute and DCNS group. The general contract will develop the business relationship in the field of R&D and naval engineering between Rosoboronexport and DCNS. As such, it is an amplification of the Letter of Intent the two companies signed during the Euronaval 2006 exhibition in Paris - Le Bourget so as to allow the setting up of co-operations between DCNS and key players of the Russian naval industry with the aim to enrich their own R&D and reinforce their innovative capabilities. The implementation of this purchase general contract will lead the Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute and the DCNS Naval Engineering Department to develop technical relationships for hydrodynamic studies and experimentations. The engineering for surface ships as much as for submarines is within the R&D scope of the general contract. Thispurchase general contract will be concretized by one first step with studies at the Towing Tanks plant in Saint-Petersburg for testing various mock-ups. The DCNS group is one of European leading players on the world market for naval defence systems. To meet customer demands for more comprehensive and integrated systems, DCNS acts as prime contractor for naval shipbuilding, integration and support by combining its own development, marketing and production capabilities with those of selected partners. To manage the complexity of such projects, DCNS draws on in-house expertise in naval architecture, systems engineering, ship assembly and integration and equipment design and production as well as through-life support. The DCNS group employs some 13,300 people and generates annual revenues of around EUR 3 billion.

Source: www.defenseworld.net