Irish Defence Forces Award New Military Bridging Contract to WFEL

WFEL, the world leading supplier of rapidly deployable military bridges, has signed a contract with the Irish Defence Forces for the supply of the MGB Medium Girder Bridging System.  The Irish Defence Forces have chosen the 31m double-storey 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.

The Irish Military has been a user of WFEL's MGB Medium Girder Bridging System since the late 1970s and is, therefore, already familiar with the many benefits of this versatile, modular bridging system.  The Corps of Engineers - the military engineering branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland - will take delivery of the new MGB bridging.  The Corps is responsible for combat engineering and construction engineering services, providing engineering on the battlefield, and has successfully leveraged its skill and expertise in several of the Irish Army's deployments on United Nations operations.

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. A full support and training package is included in the contract, and the Irish Defence Forces can expect delivery of their new bridging assets by the end of 2023.

WFEL is currently supplying 17 Sets of its MGB Medium Girder Bridges to the UK MoD, following a review of the MoD's modular gap crossing capabilities, which aimed to draw together existing in-service capabilities into a single coherent capability.  One of the key criteria for this contract was the fact that the MGB system can be configured in several different ways to provide flexibility to the Commander on the ground.