DefenCell exhibits at IDEX 2007

There are times during operational campaigns when every soldier needs a safe and secure resting place. But in many places, and in featureless desert conditions in particular, fortified walls to surround a base camp are few and far between. A British company, J & S Franklin Ltd, means to change this with DefenCell Military Force Protection systems.

Carried in a standard shipping container, the system is based on strong and lightweight bags made from geotextiles that can be filled with soil or sand to erect barriers that cannot be climbed by attackers. One 13m container provides approximately one kilometer of wall, 2m wide and 2m high.

The range includes the DefenCell Wall System for building vertical walls, road blocks and barriers up to any height, and the DefenCell Traverse System for building traditional embankments and fortifications. The cellular design is lightweight, non-metallic and compact, and is simply and rapidly deployed using almost any available fill materials, even wind-blown sand.

'It may not be a weapon, but for military personnel everywhere this is a product that has an immense amount of interest. We are very pleased that J & S Franklin are bringing the systems to IDEX,' a spokesperson for IDEX 2007 said. The eco-friendly systems are currently being used by the British Army in Afghanistan and are designed for a wide range of military applications.

DefenCell walls will be erected at both the IDEX 2007 main exhibition site and the Naval Berthing exhibition at Mina Zayed Free Port.