The Irish Defence Forces have awarded WFEL a contract for the delivery of its MGB medium girder bridging system.
The Irish Defence Forces have chosen the 31m double story MGB variant, which can be erected in various configurations to cover the full range of military and emergency bridging requirements and will be supplied complete with handrails, making the system adaptable for use not only during military operations but also in Disaster Relief and Emergency scenarios, such as the severe flooding situations seen in Europe recently.
A full support and training package is included in the contract and the Irish Defence Forces are set to receive their new bridging assets by the end of 2023.
The Irish Military have been users of WFEL’s MGB medium girder bridging system since the late 1970s. The new system will be received by the Corps of Engineers, a military engineering branch responsible for combat engineering and construction engineering services.
Colonel Damian McEvoy, Director of Engineering for the Irish Defence Forces, said, “As long-time users of the medium girder bridge system, we are already familiar with its many benefits and, by updating our bridging assets with the latest version of the MGB, we will continue to be equipped with the most versatile, modular bridging system available, allowing our Engineering Division to rapidly react to situations both on and off the battlefield.”
With over 500 systems already supplied to militaries around the world, the MGB modular military bridging system provides interoperability with any other MGB of any age and is already adopted by many NATO members. WFEL’s MGB has been deployed and proven on NATO operations worldwide.
“We are seeing increased interest in our MGB bridging systems worldwide, due to their modular and versatile nature, as forces worldwide recognize the need for rapid gap-crossing capability to ensure unrestricted maneuver for vehicles of up to 70 tons,” Tom Winney, business development director at WFEL, said.
