The Engin Blindé du Génie (EBG; "armoured engineering vehicle") is a French military engineering vehicle. Its chassis is that of the AMX-30 battle tank. Development of the vehicle began in the 1980s. It was pressed into service by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in 1989 for the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, which revealed that the design needed further work. Deliveries to the French Army resumed in the early 1990s. The vehicle carries a 142-mm demolition gun, a dozer blade, a manipulator arm, launchers for anti-tank mines, a winch and a 7.62-mm machine gun. It has a three-person crew of a commander, driver and operator. Of 71 vehicles built, 18 of the modernised EBG VAL or EBG R2 variant remained in operational service in 2018, with some others of it in long-term storage. EBG SDPMAC is a minefield-breaching variant. The EBG VAL or EBG R2 variant has additional armour and other improvements. The most recent variant is the EBG Vulcain, which has an excavator arm instead of a manipulator arm; the first one was delivered in 2020, and three more were due in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engin Blinde du Genie Armoured fighting vehicles of France Military engineering vehicles