The shipyards in the French region have agreed to build the first Mistral helicopter carrier for Russia by 2013. However, it is still subject to winning the final government tender. The recent media reports making rounds in the Russian region have confirmed the developments that are citing one of the ship producers in the country.

It is to be mentioned here that the two countries have been in discussions for a very long period now but the fact of the matter is that it is currently holding a tender with a view to modernise its aging armed forces.

Jacques Hardelay, president of STX Europe's operations in France said that the first mistral ship can surely be build by the French shipyards if the contract is signed among the two parties.

He also said that the two ships could well be build by the Russian Shipyards in the year 2016 which will be using french technology.

The media reports also said that Russia is trying to monetize its armed forces as it is currently exposed to Moscow's brief 2008 war with neighboring Georgia.