The Federal Aviation Administration has halted flights round Fort Hancock, Texas, following the reported incident
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has imposed sweeping flight restrictions close to Fort Hancock, Texas, after lawmakers and congressional aides mentioned a Pentagon-operated laser-based anti-drone system allegedly shot down a US authorities drone close to the Mexican border.
The FAA barred most plane from working within the affected airspace late Thursday, citing “particular safety causes” in a Discover to Air Missions (NOTAM). The restrictions took impact at 6:30 PM native time and are scheduled to stay in place till June 24, although emergency flights corresponding to air ambulances and search-and-rescue operations could also be licensed on a case-by-case foundation.
Neither the Pentagon nor the FAA commented on the reported incident, however senior Democratic lawmakers overseeing aviation and homeland safety points criticized the “incompetence” and poor coordination between military and civilian companies.
“Our heads are exploding over the information that the DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Safety drone utilizing a high-risk counter-unmanned plane system,” Representatives Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson, and Andre Carson mentioned in a joint assertion on Thursday.
In line with congressional aides cited by Reuters, the drone operated by CBP was unintentionally focused by a high-energy laser weapon designed to counter unmanned aerial threats. The kind of drone concerned and the precise date of the shootdown stay unclear.
The reported shootdown follows an analogous controversy earlier this month in close by El Paso, the place the FAA briefly halted airport site visitors after issues emerged over testing of the identical system in opposition to objects later recognized as get together balloons. That restriction was lifted inside hours after the Pentagon reportedly agreed to delay additional testing pending a federal security assessment.
The brand new incident comes amid heightened safety issues alongside the southern US border, the place federal authorities have expanded surveillance and counter-drone efforts in response to elevated exercise by Mexican drug cartels.
Cartel violence swept Mexico after drug lord Oseguera Cervantes, often known as El Mencho, was killed in a joint US-Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, final week. The operation triggered unrest throughout Jalisco and a minimum of eight different states, with movies circulating on-line displaying smoke rising from torched automobiles and industrial buildings. Clashes between the military and drug cartels have raised issues concerning the clean staging of the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer time.
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