Dimensions of individual units 1.875" x .375" x .5" tall (47.6mm x 9.5mm x 12.7mm). The HESCO barrier is a modern military fortification and the name of the British company that developed it in the late 1980s. It is made of a collapsible wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary to semi-permanent dike or barrier against blast or small-arms. It has seen considerable use in Iraq and Afghanistan.