I would have thought that Canada might be a little bit interested. Singapore have expressed some interest in a acquiring a vessel of that type.
Please leave Singapore out of this discussion as ST Marine is likely to build the forthcoming Joint Multi-Mission Ship or JMMS (whose design will complement the existing capabilities of the Endurance Class LPDs). IMO, there is no credible news source that suggest that Singapore will acquire a Mistral class given its limitations in meeting the SAF's future mission sets. In particular, I note that this class does not meet the SAF's needs for the forthcoming aviation centric JMMS. Please provide sources, if you want to continue this avenue of discussion, so that the sources can be debunked.
Singapore is sending pilots to Italy for training. Recently, five earned their wings there. While Singapore is a buyer of French naval technology and has strong defence science ties with the French (Singapore and France have been collaborating in defence research and development under the Supelec, ONERA, NUS, DSO Research Alliance (
SONDRA) for the last 10 years), Singapore also works with the Italians and are very impressed by the Italian approach to ship design.
France’s surprise suspension of the sale of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier to Russia is seen as a delaying yet diplomatic move to buy time on a troubled arms deal and ease pressure on French President François Hollande. The delicate French repositioning - which is not a cancellation - Hollande’s “on hold” decision came on the eve of the two-day NATO summit. For details see this 6 Sept 2014, DefenseNews article:
French Mistral Sale Strategy: Buy Time To Maneuver. Now that the deal is on hold, France will reap the financial, economic and reputational consequences. A cancellation result in Russian litigation for repayment of funds and damage the prospects of future deals.
General note to all but directed as no one specifically: If this thread goes down the road of a fantasy 'what if', it will be closed (which has been a problem in some other threads).