MINEHOUND™ - VMR2 is an advanced, dual sensor, mine detector comprising a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) developed by ERA Technology Ltd (UK) and an induction Metal Detector (MD) based on the VMH3 manufactured by Vallon GmbH (FRG).

Minehound in kneeling configuration
Minehound in prone configuration

MINEHOUND™ is designed to meet the user requirements for ease of use, ruggedness and functionality. Both the MD and GPR provide audio outputs, which give the operator information on the size of the target; the GPR also provides information on the depth and symmetry of the target. As the GPR will only respond to targets with a significant radar cross-section, and hence, physical dimensions, sources of false alarm to the metal detector, such as bullets, casings and fragmentation are rejected. This results in a significant reduction in the false alarm rate that deminers typically suffer from when using a metal detector alone.

In the trials in live minefields in three continents MINEHOUND™ detected every mine, and offered a potential reduction in false alarm rate of up to 7:1.The overall concept of using MINEHOUND™ to follow up the indications of the indigenous metal detector was highly effective and was the safest method of assessing the performance of a new detector. The trials enabled optimisation of the production design and clearly demonstrated that new technology can be brought to humanitarian clearance operations in a safe and controlled manner without the need for excessive training.