Summary: Promotional film focusing on the relationship between Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE) and the Ministry of Defence. It is RARDE's role to test and evaluate equipment and vehicles produced for the various branches of the British Armed Forces.
Description: Focus on RARDE's vigorous testing programme, designed to evaluate both performance and reliability. Vehicles being evaluated include the Hagglund BV206, a Challenger 1 fitted with a blade for clearing/digging, a light utility truck, and a field ambulance. Such vehicles are trialled according to the users' requirements, and the manufacturers of the vehicles are kept informed during the trials. The vehicles are tested on a number of different surfaces in and around the DERA establishment at Chertsey in Surrey, including smooth surfaced roads, rough terrains, and purpose built variously surfaced tracks. The rigorous testing programme requires detailed records to be kept of the findings, as the information obtained will either prove or disprove a vehicle's suitability for its intended user. Electro-magnetic compatibility trials are carried out in a purpose built building, and the extreme limits of a vehicle's performance are also tested.
