The US military used a high-energy laser system to shoot down a government drone near Texas’s Fort Hancock, triggering temporary flight restrictions in the surrounding airspace, reported news agency Reuters, citing congressional aides.The aircraft that was brought down belonged to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Lawmakers were told the Pentagon deployed a laser-based counter-drone system in the border region, an area that frequently sees drone activity linked to Mexican drug cartels.In a joint statement, the Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and CBP confirmed that the military used a “counter-unmanned aircraft system … to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”The agencies added that the episode “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.”Even so, the incident exposed coordination gaps between federal agencies.Senior House Democrats, Representatives Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson and Andre Carson, sharply criticized what they described as poor interagency communication. The trio, who serve on committees overseeing aviation and homeland security matters, said they had previously raised concerns about the administration’s handling of counter-drone policy.The lawmakers said they warned months ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan proposal to train counter-drone operators and address coordination issues “was a short-sighted idea.”“Now, we’re seeing the result of incompetence,” the statement said, according to news agency Reuters.Following the shootdown, the FAA issued a notice citing “special security reasons” and broadened existing flight restrictions near the Mexican border, expanding the restricted radius “to ensure safety.” The agency maintained that the move did not affect commercial air traffic due to the area’s remote location.The Fort Hancock incident comes weeks after another airspace disruption in nearby El Paso. Earlier this month, the FAA temporarily halted traffic at the city’s airport for 10 days before abruptly lifting the restriction roughly eight hours later.Media reports at the time indicated that concerns over testing of the same laser-based anti-drone system prompted the initial shutdown. According to Reuters and others, the FAA ultimately agreed to withdraw the El Paso restrictions after the Pentagon committed to pausing further laser testing pending a safety review.Congressional aides said the Pentagon and CBP had earlier indicated they believed the laser system could be deployed without prior FAA approval.Senator Tammy Duckworth, who chairs the Senate aviation subcommittee for Democrats, called for a formal inquiry into both the drone shootdown and the El Paso airspace episode.“The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth told Reuters.Lawmakers were reportedly briefed late Thursday about both developments, as questions mounted over how federal agencies coordinate when deploying emerging counter-drone technology in civilian airspace.
