Skalsäkra

Skalsäkra is a Swedish verb that denotes making a structure, installation, or area secure against shelling or blast effects. The term is used mainly within defense planning, civil protection, and risk management to describe measures intended to reduce vulnerability to artillery impacts, fragmentation, or other explosive hazards. In practice, skalsäkring may include strengthening structural elements, installing sprängskyddsglas, adding debris barriers, and designing layouts to limit the reach of blast effects. The goal is to preserve function and safety during and after an attack while considering weight, cost, and feasibility.

The word is a compound of skal, shell or blast, and säkra, to secure. It is a technical term, more common in military and emergency management documentation than in everyday speech, and it may appear as skalsäkrar (present tense), skalsäkrad (past participle), or as a noun form skalsäkring.

Applications appear in military fortification upgrades, civilian critical infrastructure protection, and hazard mitigation planning. Examples include skalsäkring of command centers, power facilities, shelters, and transport hubs located in or near conflict zones. Techniques rely on structural reinforcement (reinforced concrete, steel framing), protective glazing (sprängskyddsglas), barriers against flying debris, and strategic layout changes to reduce blast and debris spread.

Related concepts include pansarskydd or armor protection, blast resistance, and general protective design. Because it is a specialized term, its use is often bounded to technical reports and policy documents rather than general discourse.