Bastions for force protection and military applications

Abstract

A bastion including one or more free-standing structures for use in, for example, military applications and for force protection. The free-standing structures are made up of a plurality of interconnected fire resistant mesh covered wire panels and are filled with, for example, sand, crushed rock or granular materials.

1 . A bastion system comprising:
 at least two external panels, each such panel including
 a frame formed from a regular rectangular grid of regularly spaced apart vertical bars and horizontal bars, including terminal top and bottom horizontal bars and terminal left and right vertical bars, the frame having an inner face and an outer face; 
 at least two vertically spaced apart connecting tubes mounted on each of the terminal left and right vertical bars, so as to be disposed substantially coplanar with the frame, the connecting tubes being of substantially uniform length, the vertical spacing being at least twice the length of the connecting tubes, the connecting tubes on the terminal left vertical bar being vertically indexed a predetermined distance, relative to the connecting tubes on the terminal right vertical bar, so as to enable two such external panels to be disposed adjacent to one another, with the connecting tubes of one external panel being interdigitated and vertically aligned with the connecting tubes of the adjacent external panel, to enable a connecting pin to be passed through the interdigitated connecting tubes to releasably fasten the external panels to one another. 
   
   
   
       2 . The bastion system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least two external panels further comprise a mesh covering disposed on the inner faces thereof. 
   
   
       3 . The bastion system according to  claim 2 , wherein the mesh covering is fabricated from at least one of: fiberglass, expanded metal, woven metal, knitted metal wire. 
   
   
       4 . The bastion system according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one internal panel, including
 a frame formed from a regular rectangular grid of regularly spaced apart vertical bars and horizontal bars, including terminal top and bottom horizontal bars and terminal left and right vertical bars, the frame having an inner face and an outer face;
 at least two vertically spaced apart connecting tubes mounted on each of the terminal left and right vertical bars, so as to be disposed substantially coplanar with the frame, the connecting tubes being of substantially uniform length, the vertical spacing being at least twice the length of the connecting tubes, the connecting tubes on the terminal left vertical bar being vertically indexed a predetermined distance, relative to the connecting tubes on the terminal right vertical bar, all of the connecting tubes being further indexed relative to the connecting tubes of the external panels, so as to enable an internal panel to be disposed adjacent to a terminal left or right vertical bar of an external panel, or the respective terminal left and right vertical bars of two such external panels disposed adjacent to one another, with the connecting tubes of the internal panel being interdigitated and vertically aligned with the connecting tubes of the adjacent external panel or panels, to enable a connecting pin to be passed through the interdigitated connecting tubes to releasably fasten the internal and external or panels to one another. 
   
   
   
       5 . The bastion system according to  claim 4 , wherein the at least two external panels further comprise a mesh covering disposed on the inner faces thereof. 
   
   
       6 . The bastion system according to  claim 5 , further comprising flaps on the external panels, which are formed from the mesh covering, the flaps extending laterally beyond the frame, so as to abut and partially cover an adjacently and obliquely-disposed panel, when a panel is disposed adjacent and connected to, an external panel, so as to inhibit the passage of infill material which may be disposed within a bastion form from a plurality of at least external panels. 
   
   
       7 . The bastion system according to  claim 4 , wherein the junction between two adjacent panels forms a joint, the bastion system further comprising at least one bracing element for connecting non-consecutive joints. 
   
   
       8 . The bastion system according to  claim 7 , wherein the at least one bracing element comprises:
 an elongated support member, having opposing ends;   annular connecting members, disposed at the opposing ends of the elongated support member, wherein the annular support members are operably configured to be vertically interdigitated between the connecting tubes of adjacent panels forming a joint.