This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2009)

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

It manufactures various weapons and other hardware for the French and other 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 Wasp 58 Light Anti-Armour Weapon;
• 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. On 22 September 2006 GIAT became the core of the new company Nexter.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Armoured Vehicles and Gun Mechanisms 3 Small Arms 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

For many years GIAT struggled to turn a profit. The company was operated at a loss. A 2001 report by the Cour des Comptes^[2] and a 2002 report by the National Assembly^[3] described the situation as critical. Not until April 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 (MBT) and several other armored platforms.

[edit] Armoured Vehicles and Gun Mechanisms

In 2006, the THL-20 gun turret was selected by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for use on the HAL Light Combat Helicopter, incorporating an M621 20 mm cannon^[4].

[edit] Small Arms

Nexter continues to produce several former GIAT small arms, cannon, and anti-armour weapons. One such weapon is the WASP 58mm Light Anti-Tank Weapon System. Designed for direct attack on light armoured vehicles at short range (>300 m) and as a light assault or anti-bunker weapon, the Wasp, or Wasp 58, is a light and disposable weapon system based on the Davis gun countershot principle using a plastic fibre countermass. Compact and easily handled, it may be fired with minimal signature, including firing from a confined space.The Wasp is composed of a fully equipped launching tube and a 58 mm hollow-charge warhead with significant piercing capabilities. The warhead can penetrate up to 300 mm of Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) or up to 800 mm of reinforced concrete, both at an angle of incidence of 70°. Care has been taken in the design to facilitate bringing the weapon into use instantly, without lengthy preparation. Well over 450,000 Wasp units have been produced.^[5], including units produced under license by Hellenic Arms Industry for the Greek Army. In 1998, the Greek domestic terrorist group 17 November used WASP 58 anti-armour weapons similar to those stolen from a Greek Army depot in Larissa to attack the Citibank building in Athens, as well as an attack in 2007 on the U.S. embassy in Athens by a 'spin-off' group, Revolutionary Struggle.^[6][7]

NOTE> The statement that a WASP 58 was used against the US Embassy in 2007 is in error. It was a modified RGP-7 warhead. Also, Hellenic Arms Industry was in negotiation to produce the WASP 58 as an assault weapon but for what ever reason the contract was never signed. This information comes from a Military reporter in Greece that I contacted.

[edit] References

1. ^ History of the Nexter company
2. ^ Les industries d'armement : rapport au Président de la République suivis des réponses des administrations et des organismes concernés, Cour des Comptes, La Documentation Française, 2001
3. ^ Rapport d'information déposé par la commission de la défense nationale et des forces armées sur la situation de Giat Industries, "Report from the defense and armed forces commission on the situation of Giat Industries", presented by Yves Fromion and Jean Diébold, French National Assembly, 2002
4. ^ "Missile Mirage", Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 1, 2007.
5. ^ Janes Information Group, Anti-Tank Weapons: Wasp Light Anti-Armour Weapon System (France) (2008)
6. ^ Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-04-08
7. ^ FoxNews.com, Police: Blast at U.S. Embassy in Athens Is Act of Terrorism, 12 Jan 2007

• (French) Cour des Comptes, Les industries d'armement de l'État, chapter 3, 2001

[edit] External links

• (English) Official site

This military-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e