File under “inventions that I’m rather surprised to find didn’t exist already”: modular military encampment armour [via BLDGBLOG; image borrowed from linked article].
… an armored wall system known as McCurdy’s Armor could have Marines rapidly erecting 6.5-foot-tall mortar-, RPG- and bullet proof fortresses in less than an hour, saving the days it can take to fortify an area by conventional means and making forward-operating units more nimble.
Named for Ryan S. McCurdy—a Marine killed in Iraq in 2006 while hauling a wounded comrade to safety—the system is designed to offer troops increased protection and mobility when setting up outposts in hostile areas. The walls can be ferried into place in panels that are easily stackable in a truck or trailer. Once in position, four Marines can assemble a single panel in less than ten minutes without any special tools or additional equipment. The panels then snap together like bomb-proofed Legos secured with steel pins to form a blast- and bullet-proof shelter.
Neat idea. Also an easily-copied technology; given its lo-fidelity nature, budget clones (weaker armour, cheaper materials) of this stuff will pop up everywhere and anywhere there’s a use for it.
Also easily re-used by one’s opponent; likely to dot post-conflict landscapes for years to come, be repurposed as housing material or weld-on armour for vehicles. The street – or the valley, or the high pass, or the desert – finds its own use for things. What would you use it for?
Stupid article. I fail to see how this is any improvement over Hesco barriers. In fact, it looks like a step down.
Speaking of the street finding its own use for things, you should see all of the tank tread speedbumps in use in Afghanistan now.
10 minutes for 4 guys to assemble 1 panel is a bit much. With a little better design they should be able have them fold out, snap into place with no assembly and be ready in 30 seconds with 2 guys (maybe more if the Armour is heavy). Then they can do some assembly to reinforce some areas (that pictured model would be more structurally sound with a few cross beams on the top (or a ceiling) .
I’ve been waiting for something similar since Starship Troopers.
@Jordan: The main advantages I can see would be that they are tall (Hesco can be climbed over fairly easy), protection from fire while being able to look though bullet proof glass and the ability to make more complex things like towers, gates and such. They could add modules for things like gun placements, solar panels, antennas/satellite dishes mountings and so on.
Hesco also need to be filled with sand/dirt and moved into position, generally needs a digger and such.