Nexter

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Cannons and salespeople

Leclerc main battle tank

THL-30 helicopter gun turret

Nexter (formerly known as GIAT Industries or Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre, Army's Industries Group) is a French Government-owned corporation weapons manufacturer.

It manufactures various weapons and other hardware for the French and foreign militaries, including:

The FAMAS assault rifle;
The FRF2 sniper rifle;
The Leclerc main battle tank;
The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé (VAB) armoured personnel carrier;
The 20 mm modèle F2 gun;
The APILAS anti-tank grenade launcher;
The LG1 Mark II 105 mm towed howitzer;
The Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie (VBCI) wheeled armoured infantry fighting vehicle.

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. The company was nationalized in 1991.

For many years GIAT struggled to turn a profit. The company was operated at a loss, and a 2001 report by the Cour des Comptes described the situation as critical. Not until April of 2004 did the board of directors present 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 and several other armored platforms.

In 2006, the THL-20 turret was selected by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for use on the HAL Light Combat Helicopter, incorporating an M621 20 mm cannon^[1].

On 22 September 2006 GIAT became the core of the new company Nexter.^[2]

There has been speculation about the sale of the French government majority stake in the company to the British corporation BAE systems.