Second US drone laser incident this month prompts Texas airspace closure

Lawmakers criticise mismanagement after El Paso airspace closure following military’s anti-drone laser deployment.

The United States military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.

It is not clear why the laser was deployed, but it is the second time in two weeks that one has been fired in the area. The military is required to formally notify the FAA anytime it takes any counter-drone action inside US airspace.

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The earlier laser firing did not hit a target. It was carried out by the CBP near Fort Bliss, about 80km (50 miles) to the northwest, prompting 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.

US Representative 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 criticised the Trump administration for “sidestepping” a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and Department of Homeland Security.

“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said.

Government defends use of anti-drone laser

The Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Customs and Border Protection issued a statement saying the military used a “counter-unmanned aircraft system … to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace”.

The statement added that the incident “took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity. These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.

“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 organisations at the US-Mexico Border,” the statement said. “The bottom line is the Trump Administration is doing more to secure the border and crack down on cartels than any administration in history.”

Second Texas airspace shut down this month

The El Paso shutdown two weeks ago lasted only a few hours, but it raised alarm and led to several flight cancellations in the city of nearly 700,000 people not far from the Mexican border.

In that case, CBP deployed an anti-drone laser near Fort Bliss without coordinating with the FAA, which then decided to close El Paso airspace to ensure commercial air safety, according to sources familiar with what happened who were not authorised to discuss it.

Afterwards, members of Congress said it appeared to be another example of government dysfunction, with different agencies failing to coordinate.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he was planning to brief members of Congress sometime this week about what happened. He said at an unrelated news conference last Friday that it was not a mistake for the FAA to close the airspace over El Paso and that he does not think a communication issue caused the problems.

Lawmaker demands an investigation

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, said this incident demands independent investigations.

“The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth said.

The investigation into last year’s midair collision near Washington, DC, between an airliner and an 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 on the alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport and failed to address the risks.