Landing Craft Air Cushion vs Mistral

The Landing Craft Air Cushion and the Mistral are both Amphibious vessel classes. The Mistral displaces 21,500 tons — 116:1 the Landing Craft Air Cushion's 185 tons. The Landing Craft Air Cushion reaches 70 knots vs 19 knots for the Mistral. Operational range is 300 nautical miles for the Landing Craft Air Cushion vs 10,700 for the Mistral. The Landing Craft Air Cushion carries a crew of 5 vs 160 for the Mistral. The Landing Craft Air Cushion was produced in 97 units vs 5 for the Mistral. Cost per hull is $41M for the Landing Craft Air Cushion vs $477M for the Mistral. The Landing Craft Air Cushion was commissioned in 1986, 19 years before the Mistral (2005).

American amphibious landing craft, introduced in 1986, achieves 70 knots using four gas turbine engines.
Origin 🇺🇸 United States
Category Amphibious vessel
Type Landing craft
Manufacturer Textron Marine and Land Systems
Year introduced 1986
Number built 97 units
Estimated unit price $41 million
French amphibious vessel, 21,500 tons displacement, uses Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters for propulsion.
Origin 🇫🇷 France
Category Amphibious vessel
Type Landing helicopter dock
Manufacturer DCNS
Year introduced 2005
Number built 5 units
Estimated unit price $477 million
Displacement 185 tons
Maximum speed 70.0 knots
Range 300 nm at 35 knots
Length 26.8 m
Beam 14.0 m
Crew 5
Propulsion 4 Avco Lycoming TF40B, (4,390 hp; 3,270 kW) each
Armament
  • Two M240B machine guns
  • Mk 19 Mod 3 40 mm grenade launcher
Displacement 21,500 tons
Maximum speed 19.0 knots
Range 10,700 nm at 5800 knots
Length 199.0 m
Beam 32.0 m
Crew 160
Propulsion 2 Rolls-Royce Mermaid azimuth thrusters (2 × 7 MW), 2 five-bladed propellers powered by 3 Wärtsilä diesel-alternators 16 V32 (6.2 MW) and 1 Wärtsilä Vasa auxiliary diesel-alternator 18V200 (3 MW)
Armament
  • 2 × Simbad missile systems
  • 2 x 20 mm modèle F2 gun
  • 2 × 30 mm Breda-Mauser
  • 2 x 7.62mm M134 miniguns
  • 4 × 12.7 mm M2HB Browning machine guns

Performance Radar Chart

Frequently Asked Questions

Which has greater displacement, the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class or Mistral-class?
The Mistral-class has greater displacement at 21,500 tons compared to the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class's 185 tons.
Which is faster, the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class or Mistral-class?
The Landing Craft Air Cushion-class is faster with a maximum speed of 70 knots compared to the Mistral-class's 19 knots.
Which has longer range, the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class or Mistral-class?
The Mistral-class has a longer range at 10,700 nautical miles compared to the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class's 300 nautical miles.
Which is longer, the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class or Mistral-class?
The Mistral-class is longer at 199.0 meters compared to the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class's 26.8 meters.
How many crew members do the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class and Mistral-class have?
The Mistral-class has a larger crew complement of 160 compared to the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class's 5 crew members.
Which is more expensive, the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class or Mistral-class?
The Mistral-class is more expensive at approximately $477 million per unit compared to the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class at $41 million.
Which has been built in greater numbers, the Landing Craft Air Cushion-class or Mistral-class?
The Landing Craft Air Cushion-class has been built in greater numbers with 97 vessels compared to 5 vessels of the Mistral-class.