Posted on 10/19/2017 4:01:53 PM PDT by mandaladon
As workers nearly complete the first prototypes of President Trumps border wall, next week the Department of Homeland Security will begin testing which designs best deter and prevent illegal immigrants from entering the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded eight contracts to six companies to build the prototypes. Four are made of reinforced concrete, the others involve alternate materials, mostly steel.
Each model is 18 to 30 feet high and 30 feet long. Contractors have until Oct. 26 to complete their design before testing begins. All of the construction is taking place a few miles east of San Diego.
Testing will include how long it takes to scale the barrier, or breach it using a concrete saw or jackhammer. Do the designs contain sensors? If so, can the prototype alert agents when someone is trying to breach, scale or dig beneath the wall?
Why is that important? Border patrol agents say a fence, wall or barrier call it what you want only buys time. Every wall can be breached. Agents need appropriate roads to reach any area along the border in a matter of minutes to interdict or apprehend an individual.
The question for evaluators will be: one, what design works best for the money and, secondly, where is it to be located? What works in the desert, say solid precast concrete, will not work in canyons where there is flash flooding. In that terrain, a design utilizing steel bollards may work best.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
No machine gun turrets?
where are the Malayan swings, punji pits and 50 cals?
I’m all for a wall. But let’s not kid ourselves...punishing big business for hiring them in the first place will do far more. Most of the chicken plants are run by them intentionally...
No section 8 vouchers, no EPT, no free medical - a **real** digital fence......
I am actually astonished that there is no graffiti on any of them yet.
That thing better not have those exposed fasteners on the SOUTH side.
Another posting on the topic with some 50 comments if anyone cares to scan thru them.
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3596333/posts
Border wall prototype construction wrapping up
I take it the design on the far left is thicker on the bottom so that the Mexicans have a harder time burrowing through it?
The Mexican army will have a tougher time running US supplied tanks into it to knock it over.
For the working aliens but the wall is also for slowing down the drug smugglers and gangsters.
If it cant be seen from space, it isn’t big enough for me!
Just shoot the coyotes.
Testing should take no more than a week or two, after the construction deadline (26 Oct).
After that, there is no telling how long they might deliberate, before picking some winners.
It is possible that they might just certify all designs that pass test standards, so many vendors could quickly get to work, with different designs (if money is available).
It is also possible that they might conduct another round of prototyping, if they determine it best to combine features of different designs together.
Couldn’t we just hire the folks at Lego? I mean, if anyone could market a wall, Lego could do it.
“No machine gun turrets?”
I believe that all active measures are ruled out, by the requirement that the design be safe for the Border Patrol itself - no accidental injuries to their officers.
No robot guns, lasers, mines or punji stakes. They could well have electrified fence or razor wire though.
Is that special effects from a movie... which one?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.