France will complete the first prototype of the EPG (the main engineer vehicle, the engineer variant of the Leclerc tank) early next year. It is based on the armored recovery variant of the Leclerc. It will have a hydraulic arm on the right front, which could be fitted with a bucket, hammer, grapple, hook, or auger. It will have a dozer blade optimized for clearing operations. The hull is designed to resist the Russian-made TRMP6 mine, which fires a self-forging fragment into the vehicle that detonates it. This mine has proven to be deadly in the Balkans, where it has wrecked many peacekeeping vehicles. --Stephen V Cole