IDF seeking to purchase new portable forts

New Y-Fort system can be erected independently by small army units, protect them while inside enemy territory.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Portable fort IDF seeking to purchase 370 (photo credit: Y-Fence)
Portable fort IDF seeking to purchase 370
(photo credit: Y-Fence)
The IDF is planning to purchase new mobile forts that can be erected independently by small military units and protect them during operations inside enemy territory.
Called Y-Fort, the new system was developed by Y-Fence, an Israeli company that is also involved in constructing the security barrier along Israel’s border with Egypt.
The fort is built like a Lego set and consists of small mesh cubes that can be folded flat for easy transport and then open to hold around one ton of dirt.
The 1X1 meter cubes are then connected to one another to form a 40-meter fortress that can hold around 50 soldiers.
The fort can be built within four hours.
Y-Fort comes with an easy-to-assemble roof for the fort which consists of a layer of beams made of fiberglass, an additional layer of metal sheets and then cubes filled with dirt.
During recent tests, the roof withstood mortar shell fire.
The IDF is evaluating the YFort as a possible replacement for the current mobile fort systems it uses, made by Britain’s HESCO. The IDF said the older systems require heavy machinery to erect their roofs, while the new models can be built independently by soldiers.
IDF sources said that mobile forts were an important component of any future operation or war that saw the deployment of IDF troops within enemy territory due to the threat the soldiers will face from short-range rockets and mortar fire.