Faced with the worrying rise in the number of improvised explosive device (IED) incidents, since 2004 defence industries, including MBDA F, in collaboration with NATO, have been looking at ways to deal with these terrorist attacks. Under contract to DGA, the French armaments agency, MBDA is working on techniques for detecting and neutralizing these devices. These include kits designed for the self-protection of vehicles already in service that could be integrated in a future system called EPEE. Short-term kit solutions for the VAB and VBL light armoured vehicles are being studied.