by Baltic Shipyard. DCN laid the keels for the aft part of both ships in 2002; Mistral on 9 July, and Tonnerre on 13 December. Chantiers de l'Atlantique laid the keel of the forward part of Mistral on 28 January 2003, and of Tonnerre later. The first block of the rear of Tonnerre was put in a dry dock on 26 August 2003, and that of Mistral on 23 October 2003. The two aft sections were assembled side by side in the same dry dock. The forward section of Mistral left Saint-Nazaire under tow on 16 July 2004 and arrived in Brest on 19 July 2004. On 30 July, the combination of the two-halves through a process similar to jumboisation began in dock no. 9. Tonnerres forward section arrived in Brest on 2 May 2005 and underwent the same procedure.Mistral was launched on schedule on 6 October 2004, while Tonnerre was launched on 26 July 2005. Delivery was scheduled for late 2005 and early 2006 respectively, but was postponed for over a year due to issues with the SENIT 9 sensor system and deterioration to the linoleum deck covering of the forward sections. They were commissioned into the French Navy on 15 December 2006 and 1 August 2007, respectively. The 2008 French White Paper on Defence and National Security forecast that two more BPCs would be in French Navy service by 2020. In 2009, a third ship was ordered earlier than expected as part of the French government's response to the recession which began in 2008. Construction began on 18 April 2009 in Saint-Nazaire; the entire ship was built there due to cost constraints. On 17 December 2009, it was announced that this third ship would be named Dixmude.Après le Mistral et le Tonnerre, le «Dixmude», Ministry of Defence It had been suggested to use the historic name of Jeanne d'Arc following the decommissioning of the helicopter cruiser of that name in 2010, but it was opposed by some French naval circles. The possibility of a fourth Mistral class ship was officially abandoned in the 2013 French White Paper on Defence and National Security. Features and capabilities Based on displacement tonnage, Mistral and Tonnerre are the largest ships in the French Navy after the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier , for roughly the same height above water. Aviation The flight deck of each ship is approximately . The deck has six helicopter