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PARIS: The maker of France's Leclerc main battle tank, Nexter, is looking for European alliances to maintain its ranking among leading terrestrial weapons suppliers, its chief executive was quoted on Thursday as saying.
The state-owned company, which changed its name from GIAT Industries in September following years of losses and restructuring, has already held contacts with defence firms Thales, EADS and Safran, Luc Vigneron said in an interview to be published on Friday by French newspaper La Tribune.
Europe has room for three ground warfare equipment suppliers of a global scale, rather than the current five which include Nexter, he said in the interview, a copy of which was released before publication.
“For Nexter, a European alliance must be sought out well before the launch in 2015-2020 of the future medium armoured vehicles. It's essential; it's the only solution that will assure our long-term survival,” he was reported saying.
Co-operation with Thales, EADS, or Safran could facilitate a European alliance but is not a pre-condition for such a step, he said.
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Seen until recently as the last bastion against defence mergers in Europe, tank makers are flirting with consolidation after seeing their sales eroded by smaller armies, tighter defence budgets and changes in the way land forces operate.
Medium armoured vehicles are however proving popular, providing a balance between strategic and tactical mobility, organisers of a Paris arms fair said last year.
Thales, Europe's biggest defence electronics firm, said in June it was keeping a close eye on developments at Giat Industries after it managed its first ever profit in 2005.
France's defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie has called on European manufacturers to hold discussions “without taboos.”
France said on Thursday it had awarded Nexter a 102 million euro contract for ammunition for the French army.
