The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.
It’s not clear why the laser was deployed, but it’s 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 U.S. airspace.
The earlier laser firing did not hit a target. It was done by the CBP near Fort Bliss, about 50 miles northwest, 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 not affected.
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.
“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said.
The Defense and Transportation departments referred questions to the FAA, which said in a brief statement that it had expanded the airspace closure around Fort Hancock. Border Protection did not immediately respond to questions.
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 not far from the Mexican border.
In that case, an anti-drone laser was deployed by CBP near Fort Bliss 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 who weren’t authorized to discuss it.
Afterward, members of Congress said it appeared to be another example of dysfunction within the government with different agencies failing to coordinate with each other.
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 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.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, said this alarming situation 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, 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.
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 carry out devastating attacks daily 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 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 (500 meters) 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, and that number has been growing.
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.
