Hesco bastion

The Concertainer, known colloquially as the Hesco barrier, or Hesco bastion, is a modern gabion primarily used for flood control and military fortifications. It is made of a collapsible wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary to semi-permanent levee or blast wall against small-arms fire and/or explosives. It has seen considerable use during the War on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Originally designed for use on beaches and marshes for erosion and flood control, the HESCO barrier quickly became a popular security device in the 1960s. HESCO barriers continue to be used for their original purpose. They were used in 2005 to reinforce levees around New Orleans in the weeks between Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. During the June 2008 Midwest floods 8,200 m (9,000 yd) of HESCO barrier wall were shipped to Iowa. In late March 2009, 10,700 m (11,700 yd) of HESCO barrier were delivered to Fargo, North Dakota, to protect against floods. In late September 2016, 16 km (10 mi) of HESCO barriers were used in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the fall flood of 2016.