Three Firms Split $200 Million Pentagon Deal for Battlefield Barriers
The Defense Logistics Agency awarded DIRICKX Systems, Hesco Bastion and Maccaferri a shared indefinite-delivery contract for expeditionary barrier systems, with work spanning the U.K., Poland, Italy and two U.S. states through 2028.
Three defense suppliers will share a $200 million Pentagon contract to build battlefield barrier systems for all four U.S. military branches, the Defense Logistics Agency said.
The fixed-price, indefinite-delivery award covers expeditionary barrier systems under a competitive solicitation that drew 11 responses, according to war.gov. Each contract runs two years with three one-year options, carrying an ordering period that ends Aug. 3, 2028.
The deal splits work among DIRICKX Systems Ltd. of the United Kingdom, Hesco Bastion Ltd. of Leeds, United Kingdom, and Maccaferri Inc. of Hagerstown, Maryland, as announced on war.gov.
Performance locations span the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, South Carolina and Maryland, with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps drawing on the systems. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serves as the contracting activity, funded through fiscal 2026 to 2028 defense working capital funds.
The agency behind the award ranks among the largest logistics organizations in the world. The Defense Logistics Agency provides logistical, acquisition and technical support for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and other federal agencies and allies, according to usa.gov. It supports more than 2,000 weapon systems and processes over 100,000 requisitions each day, according to pricereporter.com.
Expeditionary barrier systems anchor force protection at forward positions. Wire-mesh gabions filled with soil and rock shield troops, equipment and command posts from blasts and small-arms fire, and crews can assemble them within hours. The inclusion of Poland and Italy as performance sites points to sustained demand along NATO’s eastern and southern flanks, where the U.S. has expanded its footprint.
Winners of the award gain a foothold in a two-year pipeline with option years that could extend the relationship through 2028. Rivals among the 11 bidders walk away without a share of the ceiling, though the indefinite-delivery structure means no single firm is guaranteed the full sum. Orders flow only as the military services request them.
For the average American, the contract signals where defense dollars land. Working capital funds recycle through the supply chain rather than drawing fresh appropriations, and the award places U.K. suppliers alongside a Maryland firm serving U.S. forces stationed overseas. The arrangement reflects the cross-border nature of allied defense procurement.
This has happened before. The Defense Logistics Agency routinely issues multiple-award, indefinite-delivery contracts for commodities and force-protection gear, spreading risk across vendors and preserving competition on individual orders. The $200 million ceiling for barrier systems falls within the agency’s standard practice of long-term supply arrangements for high-demand items.
The next decisions rest with Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, which will issue individual delivery orders against the contract as military needs arise. A schedule for the first orders has not been announced, and the ordering window remains open until Aug. 3, 2028.
Battlefield barriers trace a long lineage in siege and defense. Roman legions raised earthen ramparts and timber palisades around marching camps, a practice Julius Caesar detailed during the Gallic Wars of the first century B.C., according to britannica.com. Modern gabion barriers revived that ancient logic in the 1990s, and their widespread adoption across NATO deployments cemented a market that Pentagon logisticians now sustain through contracts like this one.
The total value of contracts awarded to DIRICKX Systems Ltd. in 2026 reached $200,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 8 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 4, 2026.
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