ERA Technology is a large independent research and development company based in Leatherhead.

Employed as a technician to work in the Systems Integration Department. It's task at the time was to co-ordinate the resources from the many areas within the company on a multi-million pound project to detect plastic anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in the Falkland Islands.

I was part of a small team responsible for conducting tests, experiments and field trials using the many technologies from the different departments, often in the most remote parts of the U.K. including Dartmoor and the Spadeadam Forest in Cumbria.

In March 1985, at the peak of the project and roughly 3 years after the conflict with Argentina, a team of us traveled to the Falkland Islands for 5 weeks to conduct field trials and demonstrate the equipment to the Ministry of Defence.

The amount of data processing required was massive and the computers used for the task were mounted in the back half of a Hagglund BV206. The antenna's accurate positioning over the target was with obtained using a Cincinnati Milacron industrial robot mounted on a Bombardier Muskeg Carrier. The power was supplied by a gas turbine generator.

The areas used for the trials were close to Port Stanley, adjacent to existing mine fields using live explosives.
The project continued for approximately a year after the Falkland trials until the Ministry stopped the funding and the equipment was never again used in the Falklands.

It was sad to see the results of all the hard work and dedication, not to mention the money spent, just rotting in an MOD compound, 3 years later.

When the project ended I worked with other departments involved in the type approval testing for mobile cellular telephones and assessing cable television installations.