The eight competing prototypes for President Donald Trump’s proposed US-Mexico border wall are to be subjected to sustained attack from sledgehammers, torches, pickaxes and battery-operated tools.Ronald Vitiello, US Customs and Border Protection’s acting deputy commissioner, says the tests could reveal strengths and vulnerabilities that prompt the government to merge more than one design rather than picking one overall winner.
“Can it be climbed? Can it be dug under? Can it withstand cutting tools?” This was the criteria by which the prototypes will be judged, Vitiello told reporters.
The prototypes will be assailed for a two-month period (and it could resemble similar tests witnessed in the LPCB Attack Testing launched at IFSEC 2017 – see video below).
The testing won’t begin until concrete in the wall prototypes dries, which could take a month or longer.
Built near San Diego, the eight models are a highly visible sign of progress towards the realisation of Trump’s signature election campaign promise at a time when his legislative programme has yielded few concrete successes despite the fact that Republicans control both Congress and the Senate. Nevertheless, the wall, estimated to cost $1.6bn, still needs endorsement from Congress.
Trump promised to build a border wall along the entire 2,000-mile border during his successful run for the presidency and that Mexico would pay for it – though the latter pledge has been watered down somewhat.
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