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Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French
government-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
s manufacturer, based in
Roanne Roanne (; frp, Rouana; oc, Roana) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (Fren ...
,
Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...
.


Group organization

The Nexter group is divided in several smaller entities, with the main one being Nexter Systems. The sub-companies are: * Nexter Munitions * Nexter Mechanics * Nexter Electronics * Nexter Robotics * Nexter Training * OptSys * NBC Sys * Euro-Shelter * Mecar * Simmel Difesa


History

The GIAT group was founded in 1973 by combining the industrial assets of the technical direction of Army weapons of the
French Ministry of Defense , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Ministry , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = Ministère des Armées.svg , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = Official logot ...
. The company was nationalized in 1991. On 22 September 2006 GIAT became the core of the new company Nexter. For many years GIAT struggled to turn a profit. The company was operated at a loss. A 2001 report by the ''
Cour des Comptes The ''Cour des Comptes'' ("Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 and ...
'' and a 2002 report by the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
described the situation as critical. In April 2004 the board of directors presented the public with a financial statement showing a profit of several hundred million Euros. This was mainly due to increased export sales, and the modernization of the Leclerc Main Battle Tank (MBT) and several other armored platforms. Sales to the UAE however were accomplished with the payment of $200 million to intermediaries. In 2006, the THL-20 gun turret was selected by
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence (military), defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manuf ...
for use on the
HAL Light Combat Helicopter The HAL Prachand (IPA: prəcəɳɖ, lit.''"Fierce"'') is an Indian multi-role, light attack helicopter designed and manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under project LCH. It has been ordered by the Indian Air Force and t ...
, incorporating the 20 mm
M621 cannon The M621 is a 20 mm automatic cannon of French design, developed by Nexter as on-board armament for armored vehicles, aircraft, helicopters and small coastal vessels of the French Navy. Variants THL 20 Turreted cannon for helicopters. POD ...
."Missile Mirage", ''
Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aerospace, defense and aviati ...
'', January 1, 2007.
Nexter has a joint venture CTA International with
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
to develop and manufacture case telescoped weapon systems and ammunition of 40 mm calibre. Nexter continues to produce several former GIAT small arms, cannon, and anti-armour weapons. One such weapon is the
Wasp 58 The Wasp 58 is a 58-mm rocket launcher antitank weapon developed in France in the late 1980s. The weapon was, originally, privately developed by the French firm Luchaire SA, subsidiary of GIAT. History In the early 1980s, Luchaire's sales depa ...
, a low cost, one man antiarmour/assault weapon system.


Merger with KMW

In 2015, Nexter and Krauss-Maffei merged under a single structure. The new
KMW+Nexter Defense Systems KMW may refer to: * Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, a German heavy equipment manufacturing company * ''Klosterneuburger Mostwaage'', a scale for must weight in winemaking primarily used in Austria, and originally the name of a piece of equipment for doing t ...
(KNDS) will be the European leader of terrestrial defense with more than 6,000 employees. The supervisory board appointed the new CEO of Nexter Systems, Stéphane Mayer, and the chairman of the executive board of KMW, Frank Haun, as CEOs of the holding company.Nexter Systems and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann have completed their association
. nexter-group.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2016


Products

Nexter design and manufactures Military protected vehicles for the
French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...
and other international
militaries A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
: * The
Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB (literally meaning "Armoured Forward Vehicle"; but more appropriately translated: "Armoured Vanguard Vehicle") is a French armoured personnel carrier and support vehicle designed and manufactured by Renaul ...
(VAB) armoured personnel carrier; * The
Nexter Aravis The Aravis is an infantry mobility vehicle developed and built by French company Nexter. An order for 15 Aravis vehicles was placed by the Délégation Générale pour l'Armement in April 2009 for use by the French Army as a reconnaissance and e ...
- Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle; * The
Nexter Titus The Titus is an infantry mobility vehicle developed and built by Nexter. Design The Titus is based on a Tatra (company), Tatra chassis. Operators * Albanian Land Force : "2-16" vehicles are currently trialed and to enter service soon. * Czech A ...
wheeled and mine protected vehicle; * The
VBMR Griffon The Véhicule Blindé Multi-Rôle Griffon (English: ''Multirole Armoured Vehicle Griffon'') or VBMR Griffon is a French multi-purpose armoured personnel carrier developed and manufactured by Nexter in cooperation with Arquus and Thales. Entering ...
armoured personal carrier VMBR-L Serval and
EBRC Jaguar The Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance et de Combat Jaguar (English: ''Armoured Reconnaissance and Combat Vehicle Jaguar'') or EBRC Jaguar is a French armoured reconnaissance vehicle that will replace the French Army's AMX-10 RC and ERC 90 Sagaie r ...
The company also acquired a large influence in the field of combat and artillery vehicles thanks to the development of several large caliber canons: * The Leclerc
main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
; * The
CAESAR Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
- 155 mm wheeled
self-propelled howitzer Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...
; * The
VBCI The Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie ( English: ''Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle'') or VBCI is a French Infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured by GIAT Industries (now Nexter Systems) and Renault Trucks Defense to replac ...
(Véhicule blindé de combat d'infanterie) wheeled armoured infantry fighting vehicle; * The LG1 Mark II 105 mm towed howitzer; * The TRF1 155 mm towed howitzer * The
GCT 155mm The AMX-30 AuF1 is a French self-propelled gun vehicle currently in use by the armies of France and Saudi Arabia. It replaced the former Mk F3 155mm in French Army service. The AuF1 primary advance is that it incorporates full armor and nuclear-b ...
self-propelled gun * The AMX-10 RC tank destroyer And several types of munitions for medium and large-calibre weapons: * 120 mm ammunitions * 155 mm ammunitions * Tank ammunitions * 40 mm ammunitions Nexter/Giat also manufactures various weapons: * The
FAMAS The FAMAS (''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', "Assault Rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978, a year after the Austrian Steyr ...
assault rifle; * The
M621 cannon The M621 is a 20 mm automatic cannon of French design, developed by Nexter as on-board armament for armored vehicles, aircraft, helicopters and small coastal vessels of the French Navy. Variants THL 20 Turreted cannon for helicopters. POD ...
* The
FR F2 sniper rifle The FR F2 (french: Fusil à Répétition modèle F2; en, Repeating Rifle, F2 model) has been the standard sniper rifle of the French military since 1986. It is designed for shooting at point targets at distances up to 800 metres. History In Augu ...
; * The
20 mm modèle F2 gun The 20 mm modèle F2 gun is a naval defence weapon used by the French Navy. It was developed from the GIAT M693, itself derived from Hispano-Suiza HS.820. It fires the same 20×139 mm round. History The need for a newer 20 mm def ...
; * The M811 25 mm cannon; * The
APILAS The RAC 112 APILAS (Armor-Piercing Infantry Light Arm System) is a portable one-shot 112 mm recoilless anti-tank weapon, designed in France by GIAT Industries. Over 120,000 of the APILAS launchers have been produced, and they are in servic ...
anti-tank rocket launcher; * The
Wasp 58 The Wasp 58 is a 58-mm rocket launcher antitank weapon developed in France in the late 1980s. The weapon was, originally, privately developed by the French firm Luchaire SA, subsidiary of GIAT. History In the early 1980s, Luchaire's sales depa ...
Light Anti-Armour Weapon; * The Armes de Défense Rapprochée personal defence weapon; * The
GIAT 30 The GIAT 30 is a series of 30 mm cannon developed to replace the DEFA 550 series weapons on French military aircraft. Introduced in the late 1980s, the GIAT 30 is a revolver cannon with electric ignition and automatic recocking. Unlike the DE ...
aircraft-mounted revolver cannon; File:VCBI-openphotonet PICT6027.JPG,
VBCI The Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie ( English: ''Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle'') or VBCI is a French Infantry fighting vehicle designed and manufactured by GIAT Industries (now Nexter Systems) and Renault Trucks Defense to replac ...
File:Nexter Aravis à Strasbourg, 2010 (2).jpg,
Aravis Aravis is a fictional character in 1954 novel ''The Horse and His Boy'' by C. S. Lewis. Aravis is a young Tarkheena, a female member of the ruling nobility of Calormen. With her horse, Hwin, who is revealed to be a talking beast from the land ...
File:CAESAR (camion équipé d'un système d'artillerie) 1.jpg,
CAESAR Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
File:CAESAR firing in Afghanistan.jpg,
CAESAR Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
File:Leclerc-openphotonet PICT6015.JPG, Leclerc Image:Nexter THL-30 p1220834.jpg, THL-20 helicopter gun turret File:F-1-Towed-Gun-howitzer.jpg, TRF1 155 mm towed howitzer


References

* ''
Cour des Comptes The ''Cour des Comptes'' ("Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 and ...
'', ''Les industries d'armement de l'État''
chapter 3
2001


External links

* {{Authority control Defence companies of France Ammunition manufacturers Firearm manufacturers of France Military vehicle manufacturers Companies based in Paris-Saclay Manufacturing companies established in 1973 Technology companies established in 1973 Companies based in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes