According to reports, the US military accidentally shot down a drone belonging to Customs and Border Protection near the Mexican border at Fort Hancock, Texas. reuters And the new York Times. Thursday’s incident reportedly caused the Federal Aviation Administration to close the airspace where the military fired the anti-drone laser.
It is the second time this month that authorities have closed airspace near the US-Mexico border due to an incident involving an anti-drone laser. On February 11, officials closed the airspace around El Paso International Airport for hours after CBP fired an anti-drone laser without coordinating with the FAA. the new York Times Reported at that time. Although Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement that the FAA and the War Department moved to “address a cartel drone intrusion,” it reportedly turned out to be a party balloon.
Now, the FAA, CBP and the Pentagon explain reuters That the military “deployed counter-unmanned aircraft systems officers to proactively mitigate hazardous unmanned aerial systems within military airspace,” adding that the incident “occurred far from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity.” This most recent incident reportedly led to the closure of the small airfield and was also done without FAA approval. Times Report.
In a joint statement, Representatives Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Andre Carson (D-IN), and Rick Larson (D-WA) – the top Democrats on the committees overseeing homeland security, aviation, and transportation – expressed outrage over the incident. “We said months ago that the White House’s decision to bypass a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to properly train C-UAS [Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems] “Addressing the lack of coordination between operators and the Pentagon, DHS and FAA was a short-sighted idea,” the statement said. “Now, we are seeing the consequences of its incompetence.”
<a href