Nexter has chosen the Belgian company MOL as its partner for the assembly of the multi-role armored vehicles GRIFFON intended to equip the Belgian Army's land component from 2025 onwards, as part of the CaMo (Motorized Capability) program. MOL is a company specialized in the construction of trucks, trailers and special heavy vehicles, and has already worked for the defense industry.
The CaMo program, for which Nexter is acting as industrial prime contractor with its strategic subcontractors Arquus and Thales, was launched in 2019 by the Belgian and French governments. It aims to equip and make the Motorized Brigade of the Belgian Army’s land component fully interoperable with the French Army’s SCORPION units, both in terms of doctrine and equipment.
This industrial cooperation agreement signed on April 11 with MOL is one of the many cooperation projects conducted by Nexter with Belgian defense industry players in the CaMo program. The 382 GRIFFON of the land component will be assembled by MOL, which will benefit from a significant transfer of skills and know-how from its new partner Nexter.
This transfer will start in the second half of 2022 in order to prepare the production and assembly, which will take place from 2024 to 2030, with a planned increase of 25 full-time equivalent jobs for MOL.
MOL CY is a Belgian independent and leading provider of custom-made trucks, trailers and refuse collection vehicles. The history of MOL CY goes back to 1944. Production takes place in Staden and at ITK in Kachtem, a daughter company of the MOL CY, together employing more than 400 people in about 70.000 square meters of workshop grounds.
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.
