Israeli Engineers Develop Mobile Bomb Shelters

July 30, 2007

“We went up north to distribute food [and] became aware of the acute lack of shelters in general and the complete lack of shelters in the open area,” Adler explained. “The main idea here is to have them spread out in places where people are caught out in the open…We needed something that could be done quickly, efficiently, and could be redeployable. Redeployability was definitely a major player here. We needed something that could be built in a factory and brought on a crane very quickly,” Adler said.

What’s the secret behind these unique shelters? “One of the main features…is a material called “flexdek,” a 1.2 mm-thick galvanized kind of sheeting. It’s placed in with the concrete and becomes a part of [it]. That adds an extra 15–20% of strength,” reports Adler. These transportable shelters can prevent the penetration of bullets, shrapnel, and missile fragments, as well as withstand a direct hit from some types of missiles. Adler says that the device has already piqued the interest of other organizations. “We’ve had some interest from the UN,” he said, noting that officials visited the Israeli factory. “People have expressed the feeling that this could be used around the world.”

Adler is already busy on his next project—a fortified bus stop shelter. It “looks and functions like a regular bus stop, but can withstand a direct hit from a Kassam. It also has a little inner room that can hold 8–10 people. The idea is to have these bus stops spread throughout busy streets,” said Adler, adding that the Home Front Command has approved the design.

Though the Operation LifeShield shelters and bus stops cannot provide Sderot and other communities with peace, it can offer them peace of mind. “It’s designed to save lives,” said Adler. For more information about Operation LifeShield, go to www.operationlifeshield.com.

—Excerpted from an article by Avi Hein, Israel21c

Photo Credit: www.operationlifeshield.com