By JOSH FUNK and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.
The case of mistaken identity prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to close additional airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles southeast of El Paso. The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it takes any counter-drone action inside U.S. airspace.
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It was the second time in two weeks that a laser was fired in the area. The last time it was CBP that used the weapon and nothing was hit. That incident occurred near Fort Bliss and prompted the FAA to shut down air traffic at El Paso airport and the surrounding area. This time, the closure was smaller and commercial flights were not affected.
Washington U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and two other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said they were stunned when they were officially notified.
“Our heads are exploding over the news,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. They criticized the Trump administration for “sidestepping” a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and Department of Homeland Security, which includes CBP.
“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said.
Government defends use of anti-drone laser
The FAA, CBP and the Pentagon issued a joint statement late Thursday that acknowledged the military “employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”
The statement said it happened far from populated areas and commercial flights as part of the administration’s efforts to strengthen protections at the border.
“At President Trump’s direction, the Department of War, FAA, and Customs and Border Patrol are working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the U.S.-Mexico Border,” the statement said.
Second time these laser systems shut down Texas airspace this month
The El Paso shutdown two weeks ago lasted only a few hours, but it raised alarm and led to a number of flight cancellations in the city of nearly 700,000 people.
In that case, an anti-drone laser was deployed by CBP without coordinating with the FAA, which then decided to close the El Paso airspace to ensure commercial air safety, according to sources familiar with what happened and weren’t authorized to discuss it.
Afterward, members of Congress said it appeared to be another example of different agencies failing to coordinate with each other.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he was planning to brief members of Congress about the incident. He said at an unrelated news conference last Friday that it wasn’t a mistake for the FAA to close the airspace in El Paso and that he doesn’t think it was a communication issue that led to the problems.
Lawmaker demands an investigation
Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, called for an independent investigation.
“The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth said.
The investigation into last year’s midair collision near Washington, D.C., between an airliner and Army helicopter that killed 67 people highlighted how the FAA and Pentagon were not always working well together.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army did not share safety data with each other about the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks.
Concern about drone threats growing
Two months ago, Congress agreed to give more law enforcement agencies — including some state and local departments — the authority to take down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had that power.
Armed drones regularly carry out devastating attacks in Ukraine and have also allowed Ukraine to strike deep within Russia. The U.S. government has handed out more than $250 million to help the states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned this summer for America’s 250th birthday.
Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.
Drones already causing problems
Drones already cause problems along the border. Cartels routinely use drones to deliver drugs across the Mexican border and surveil Border Patrol officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.
The threat to planes from drones continues to increase along with the number of near misses around airports. Homeland Security estimates there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States.
Anti-drone systems can use radio signals to jam drones, or high-powered microwaves or laser beams like the ones that have been used in Texas that are capable of disabling the machines. Some others station small drones to take flight quickly and ram into threatening drones. And there are systems that use bullets, but those are more common on battlefields than in domestic use.
