Can't vouch for the provenance of this, but I think it may be a pic of border prototype section so this can be judged as "old". This photo here supports your contention the upper edges of the verticals are tied together laterally probably on the older versions.
Here's another version with the bollard/verticals NOT tied at the tops. There is an intermediate horizontal structural shape tying the verticals together, but I would guess this is a "tie" to aid in setting these members vertically for concreting-in the base.
The pic you posted with the cuts. Those look like torch cuts on square steel tube full of concrete. I want to tell you cutting a steel whatever filled with concrete is a primo SOB. I can get into details of why that is, but it's not necessary at this time. The point of my post is reinforcing what you said:
Nonetheless, the point remains, no barrier is completely + totally impenetrable, but FakeNews does not distinguish between the amount of time and effort required to breach ANY barrier vs. not having any barrier at all.
Those torch cuts took time, and they took marshaling of resources at this breach point. There are other methods of making these cuts, of course, but these are further and further away removed from common availability and low cost. ANY method employed requires time and will attract the appropriate attention.
And I learned a long time ago to NEVER take as gospel ANYTHING from FakeNews that has to do with math, statistics, construction and physics. Most urino-lists have no idea what end of a set of channellocks will pinch you.
Thanks for posting.
Look ...they have dynamited through the concrete barrier.
The actual steel slat wall is about three times higher that the photo you copied.
The time it takes to torch and hammer through such a wall allows for surveillance to spot the attempted breach and respond, ideally with a storm of bullets.
Border Patrol agents say existing walls like the steep slat wall are 99% effective meaning for every illegal wannabe, only one out of a hundred get through; agents can manage with that, let’s them focus on the few that get through.
Thanks for that info.
Not really. You just need to know how to "wash" metal with a banana tip. (tube or pipe) Also called gouging. As you can see it would be quite visible from a distance if used...day or night.
It's done in shipyards quite frequently as, over time, outboard pipes get filled with barnacles.
Concrete and barnacles 'pop' as the interior pops back against the heat being applied to it.
(that guy was not washing the pipe away. listen for the 'pop' as the concrete overheated)
Washing the metal doesn't give the material inside time to heat up a lot and reduces popping.
A reciprocating saw would be less visible, but much slower, and would require quite a few blades if they are cheap ones (low quality metal used in fabrication) and present a problem on the back side unless the concrete was chipped away first.
Time is the opponent to the intended trespasser, not the material.