The US military reportedly shot down a CBP drone with a laser

The US military mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone near the Mexican border at Fort Hancock, Texas. Reports from Reuters and New York Times. Thursday’s incident reportedly prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to close the airspace as the military fired an anti-drone laser.

This is the second time this month that officials have done this Closed airspace Near the US-Mexico border due to an incident involving the use of an anti-drone laser. On February 11, officials closed the airspace around El Paso International Airport for hours afterward CBP fired an anti-drone laser Without coordination with the FAA New York Times reported at the time. Although Transport Minister Sean Duffy He said in a statement When the FAA and War Department moved in to “deal with a cartel drone incursion,” it turned out to be a party balloon.

Now, the FAA, CBP, and the Pentagon are telling us Reuters The military “enlisted the help of counter-drone system authorities to mitigate the threat of an unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” adding that the incident “occurred far from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity.” This latest incident reportedly resulted in a smaller airspace closure and was also carried out without Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval. times Reports.

in Joint statementReps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Andre Carson (D-IN), and Rick Larsen (D-WA) — the top Democrats on the committees overseeing Homeland Security and Aviation and Transportation — expressed outrage over the incident. “We have been saying for months that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tricommitte bill to properly train C-UAS (counter-drone aerial systems) operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the FAA was short-sighted.” “And now, we are seeing the result of their incompetence.”