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Changes in strategy and geography as a result of major reforms at the end of the twentieth century have forced the defence industry to adapt its resources and materials accordingly. Companies involved in the arms industry have merged into large groups resulting in the redistribution of this sector’s economy. GIAT Industries, the French military and industrial company, has been part of this change. It was created at the end of 1990 from the Groupement Industriel des Armements Terrestres (GIAT, founded in 1971) and made a profit for the first time in 2005 before becoming NEXTER in December 2006. Successive restructuring has forced this company out of the sheltered world of arsenals and brought it into the competitive European market, where it plays an important role in forming alliances with other manufacturers.