FAA restricts Texas airspace after Pentagon reportedly shot down CBP drone

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted flights near Fort Hancock, Texas, on Thursday after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone was shot down by a laser system operated by the Pentagon.

Although state agencies have not identified who owns the drone, top Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee issued a joint statement Thursday evening claiming the drone belonged to CBP.

U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson and Andre Carson said their heads were “exploding at the news” that a CBP drone had been shot down by the Pentagon with a “high-risk counter-drone system.”

Legislators added that this was a “consequence” to the incident. [the White House’s] “Incompetence” following a “short-sighted” decision to “avoid a bipartisan, three-committee bill to properly train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS, and the FAA.”

In a joint statement to Fox News Digital, the War Department, CBP and FAA said DoW used the drone system to respond to “an apparently threatening unmanned aerial system operating in military airspace.”

The ministries said the conflict “took place far from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity,” adding that they “will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”

“Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations are working together in an unprecedented way to reduce drone threats along the U.S.-Mexico border,” the departments said.

“As a result, the Trump Administration is doing more to secure the border and dismantle the cartels than any administration in history,” the statement said.

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The Pentagon reportedly used a high-energy laser system to accidentally shoot down a CBP drone near the Mexican border, which has frequently seen attacks by drones believed to be operated by Mexican drug cartels, congressional aides told Reuters.

The FAA told Fox News Digital that a temporary flight restriction (TFR) is “already in effect” around the Fort Hancock area and that the TFR “has been expanded to include a larger radius to ensure safety.”

The restriction does not affect commercial flights, the agency said.

The FAA said in its Notice of Air Tasks (NOTAM) that airspace around Fort Hancock was temporarily restricted for “specific security reasons.”

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The restriction comes a few weeks after the FAA suspended flights to and from El Paso International Airport for 10 days and lifted the order about eight hours later.

Drones operated by Mexican drug cartels violated American airspace near El Paso International Airport in Texas earlier this month, prompting the FAA to temporarily close the airport. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

A Trump administration official previously told Fox News that the initial quarantine was in response to “Mexican cartel drones” violating U.S. airspace.

A US official later confirmed that the US military shot down what was determined to be a party balloon near El Paso.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and was directed to a joint statement provided by the War Department, Customs and Border Patrol and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.

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