On 16 November 2021, NBC-Sys, a subsidiary of the Nexter Group, received several representatives from the French Armament Delegation (DGA) and French Army’s officers at its Saint-Chamond site.
During a tour of the facilities, NBC-Sys inaugurated a new fully automated line dedicated to the production of its entire range of NBC (nuclear, bacteriological and chemical) filter cartridges. This production line is a strategic industrial asset that guarantees the supply of current filter cartridges for the French armed forces and will be compatible with the new cartridges of the EPIA program (individual protection kit for the armed forces) by 2025.
This institutional meeting is also an opportunity to celebrate the delivery of the one millionth mask in the ARFA (Appareil Respiratoire Filtrant des Armées) range since it was put into service in the French armed forces in 1992. While production of this mask continues at a rate of several tens of thousands per year, NBC-Sys is designing - as part of the EPIA program - the future gas mask for the French armed forces, which will equip them for the next thirty years.
Jean-Marie Mathelin, deputy CEO of NBC-Sys, welcomes this inauguration which reinforces, according to him, “the position of NBC-Sys as the strategic supplier of CBRN individual protection solutions for the French armed forces for the next decades.”
NBC Sys is a subsidiary of the Nexter Group based in Saint-Chamond (Loire) and specialized in protection against nuclear, radiological, bacteriological and chemical (NRBC) threats. With more than sixty years of experience, it supplies the gas mask of the French Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Space Force and Navy). NBC-Sys offers a complete catalogue of solutions for conducting military or civil protection operations under the CBRN threat:
- Masks and filter cartridges for the armed forces, but also protective bonnets for first responders (firemen, emergency services, etc.) and the evacuation of civilians
- CBRN filtration systems for military vehicles
- Mobile shelters for hospitals and ships
- Chemical and biological threat detection kits
- Decontamination systems for personnel, vehicles, aircraft and sensitive equipment (weapons, helmets, radios, etc.), some of which were heavily used at the height of the COVID 19 crisis
The ARFA mask is the gas mask of the French Armed Forces which, since the beginning of the 1990s, has offered some of the best levels of CBRN protection in the world. Designed to be worn during 24 hours by soldiers in a CBRN environment, the ARFA mask is equipped with an acoustic membrane to facilitate communication and a device that allows the soldier to feed and hydrate while remaining under protection. NBC-Sys also provides a range of filter cartridges for all types of NBC threats.
Nexter, the leading French land defense company and third European player in the ammunition sector is part of the KNDS Group. The scope of its business includes as well the supply of weapon systems and ammunition for air and naval forces. Nexter also provides systems and protection solutions in the field of homeland security. The group continues to apply its international development policy with several order intakes in 2020 intended for the export market.
In France, Nexter is fully committed to meeting the objectives of the SCORPION program, through the upgrade of the Leclerc tank and the development of the VBMR GRIFFON and EBRC JAGUAR vehicles within the temporary business venture between Nexter, Thales and Arquus, as well as the Lightweight VBMR SERVAL.
The group’s range of products also includes TITUS® and VBCI armored vehicles, CAESAR® and 105LG1 artillery systems, smart ammunition (BONUS), robots, many equipment, as well as customer service, support and revaluation.
KNDS’s 2020 turnover amounted to €2,4 billion.
