VICKSBURG, Miss.— The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is strengthening expeditionary logistics capabilities through the development and deployment of innovative Port Damage Recovery (PDR) kits, designed to rapidly restore damaged maritime infrastructure in contested environments.
“These kits allow for pre-engineered kitted solutions to be available on demand to the warfighter without the need for on-ground engineering design and calculations,” said Justin Strickler, Technical Director with the ERDC’s Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL). “They are also designed to be installed without the need for heavy Material Handling Equipment (MHE) requiring only hand tools and skills resident in engineer units across the services.”
The PDR kits consist of four primary repair systems that address critical port and pier vulnerabilities:
- One-size-fits-all fiberglass reinforced polymer jacket that restores the structural capacity of timber, concrete, or steel piles
- Mechanical Repair Components that provide four repair solutions for wood pile–supported structures, enabling rapid stabilization and structural restoration
- Pier Over Decking System (PODS), a modular system that functions as a bridge to span damaged or destroyed sections of a pier, restoring operational access
- Mooring and Fendering Repairs, which offer expedient solutions for replacing missing or damaged mooring and fendering points essential to vessel operations
ERDC-GSL’s Port Damage Recovery team, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center (CCDC-GVSC), recently transitioned three ERDC-developed PDR kits into a tri-service training environment. These kits are key deliverables funded by the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering’s (USW(R&E’s) Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies Program (APFIT).
The hands-on training event, conducted at Port Hueneme, California, brought together engineering forces from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force, enhancing joint interoperability and operational readiness.
“This was a cross-service training opportunity, which is rare,” said Strickler. “The same repair kits are fielded in the Army and Navy and jointly trained on. This means that if one service is called upon to support another service in the execution of a PDR mission using these materials, there is no learning curve. They all speak the same language and have the same level of knowledge, which is vital for joint operations.”
Participating units included Naval Construction Groups One and Two, Army Dive units from the 130th, 20th, and 555th Engineer Brigades and the U.S. Air Force RED HORSE Squadron.
“This training was an important part of the technology transition path by providing warfighters with the knowledge of how to employ the repairs kits to bring to fruition a true capability,” said Strickler. “Without this knowledge, you only have bunch of parts and pieces. It’s more than just the instruction book that accompanies a set of Legos or a piece of Ikea furniture. “
By integrating innovative port repair technologies with joint-force training, ERDC continues to ensure U.S. forces can rapidly restore and sustain critical seaport infrastructure — preserving operational reach and logistics superiority in complex and contested environments.