Pentagon accidentally shoots down ICE drone with high powered laser | World | News
The Pentagon mistakenly used a high-powered laser to shoot down an ICE drone, members of Congress said Thursday, prompting the FAA to further close airspace near El Paso, Texas. It is unclear why the laser was fired, but it was the second time fire had been fired at the area in two weeks. The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it conducts counter-drone action in U.S. airspace.
Previous laser shots did not hit the target. This was done by ICE near Fort Bliss, about 50 miles to the northwest, and led the FAA to shut down air traffic in and around the El Paso airport. This time the closure was smaller and commercial flights were 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 formally notified.
They said in a joint statement: “Our minds are exploding at the news.” They criticized the Trump administration for “hijacking” a bipartisan bill aimed at training drone operators and improving communication between the Pentagon, the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security.
They added: “Now we see the result of his incompetence.”
The Defense and Transportation departments referred questions to the FAA, and the FAA said in a brief statement that the closure of airspace around Fort Hancock had been expanded. ICE did not immediately respond to questions.
The closure of El Paso two weeks ago lasted only a few hours but sparked alarm and led to a series of flight cancellations in the city of about 700,000 people not far from the Mexican border.
In that case, an anti-drone laser was deployed by ICE near Fort Bliss without coordination with the FAA, and the FAA subsequently decided to close El Paso airspace to ensure commercial air safety, according to sources familiar with what happened who were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Members of Congress later said this 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 plans to brief members of Congress this week about what’s happening. He said at an unrelated news conference last Friday that it was not a mistake for the FAA to close the airspace in El Paso and that he did not think it was a communication issue that was causing the problems.
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, ranking member of the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, said this alarming situation requires independent investigations.
“The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth said.
The investigation into last year’s mid-air collision between a plane and an Army helicopter near Washington, DC, that killed 67 people, found that the FAA and the Pentagon did not always work well together.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the FAA and the Army failed to 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 shoot down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had this power.
Armed drones carry out devastating attacks in Ukraine every day and also allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia. The U.S. government has doled out more than $250 million to help states prepare to respond to drones before hosting World Cup matches and celebrations planned for America’s 250th birthday this summer.
Another $250 million grant will be awarded later this year to strengthen the nation’s drone defenses.
Drones are already causing problems at the border. Cartels regularly use drones to transport drugs to the Mexican border and spy on Border Patrol agents. More than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the final six months of 2024, officials told Congress last summer.
The drone threat to aircraft continues to increase with the number of near misses around airports. Homeland Security estimates that more than 1.7 million registered drones are flying in the United States and that number is growing.
Anti-drone systems can use radio signals or high-power microwaves to intercept drones, or laser beams that can disable machines, such as those used in Texas. Others deploy small drones to fly quickly and crash into threatening drones. There are also systems that use projectiles, but these are more common on battlefields rather than domestic use.
