Nexter
Frank Haun (left) CEO of KNDS and Stephane Mayer CEO of Nexter
34 Blvd de Valmy BP 504 Roanne, 42328 France
33-4-77-44-79-00
www.nexter-group.fr
Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre, Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Roanne, Loire. GIAT was renamed Nexter in 2006.
In 2015, Nexter and Krauss-Maffei merged under a single structure, KNDS
Nexter’s website expresses their aim to make parent company KNDS ‘the European industrial champion of land defense’. Nexter is the leader in French land forces sales, with an annual turnover of 1 billion Euros. KDNS turns over close to 2.4 billion euros annually.
Weapons
caesar-howitzer
155mm CAESAR wheeled self-propelled howitzer
The Indonesian Army acquired 37 CAESAR units for $240 million, the first two arriving in mid September 2012. Another 18 were purchased in a follow-up order signed in February 2017 during the IDEX 2017 defense exhibition
Under the contract, Nexter will supply Indonesia with CAESAR simulators for training. The 18 new units will be equipped with Nexter FINDART artillery firing control systems.
More than 50 artillery battalion auxiliary vehicles will be assembled in Indonesia by Nexter partner PT Pindad, as part of the deal.
CAESAR is a 155mm artillery system mounted onto a 6x6 vehicle chassis. It is typically operated by a crew of five and has a range of more than 26 miles.
amx-tanks
Nexter AMX tanks
The Indonesian Army bought 175 AMX-13/75, 130 AMX-13/105, 32 AMX-VCI, and 10 AMX-13 PDP in the early 1960s. These were designed by the company Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux, however Nexter holds the maintenance and upgrade rights now. AMX tanks were used in the massacres of Indonesian ‘communists’ during 1965-6, in the invasion of East Timor in 1975, against the separatist movement in Aceh during the nineties, and in the invasion of West Papua, Operation Trikora in the sixties. The AMX series are still present and in use in West Papua today.
LG1-105-Howitzer
The French government, via Nexter, sold 20 of these weapons to the Indonesian Marine Corps, TNI AL. Nexter hopes to sell more of these to Indonesia. The key selling points are that it is ‘combat proven’ and that the cannon is light enough to be carried by sling with a medium sized helicopter such as the Bell 202 or Caracal. The infantery, or TNI AD, is rumoured to be seeking the LG5 weapon also.
An Indonesian military fan page raves:
The LG-1 MK II consists of a 3.17 meter long barrel with a weight of 100 Kg with a right-hand rotation which is capable of firing 12 rounds per minute. This cannon can hit targets within a distance of 11.5 kilometers using standard HE (High Explosive) M1 type projectiles. If you use the standard Giat HE BB type projectile, this weapon can hit targets as far as 17.5 kilometers. Meanwhile, the minimum shooting distance is 1.4 kilometers. The destructive power caused by the LG-1 MKII projectile is capable of smothering an area of 200 square meters. The time it takes the crew to prepare this weapon in a ready-to-fire condition is only 30 seconds.