The barrier or bastion is a modern gabion for military fortification. It is made of a collapsible wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary blast or small-arms barrier. One of the less heralded life- and labor-saving devices of war.

Originally designed for use on beaches and marshes for erosion and flood control,the hesco bastion quickly became a popular security device. In general, it takes far less labor to build a Hesco barrier than an equivalent structure made with sandbags.