Flight restrictions in an area of Texas were expanded on Thursday after the U.S. military accidentally shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone.
The military used a laser-based anti-drone system to shoot down the drone, according to the shocked lawmakers. The incident, which marks the second laser-related incident in weeks, caused the Federal Aviation Administration to close airspace near Fort Hancock.
A joint statement from the Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration, and Customs and Border Protection to the Daily Beast said the military deployed a “counter-unmanned aircraft system” to “mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”
The area where the drone was shot down, near the Mexico border, is an area used by Mexican drug cartels, congressional aides told Reuters.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s airspace restriction lists the end date as June 24. It cites “special security reasons.”
“Our heads are exploding over the news,” Reps. Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson, and André Carson, Democrats on the House Transportation and Homeland Security committees, said in a statement, criticizing the lack of coordination.
The Defense Department drew similar concern just a few weeks ago over another laser-related incident in the same region.
Earlier this month, an airspace closure above El Paso sparked chaos after the Defense Department reportedly conducted counter-drone testing with the laser system.
According to the New York Times at the time, CBP agents shot down a party balloon under the impression that it was a drone belonging to a Mexican cartel. The laser was loaned by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security.
In their response Thursday, Democrats said the Trump administration was “sidestepping” a bill to train drone operators and require better communication between the Defense Department, FAA and CBP.
“Now, we’re seeing the result of incompetence,” they added.
A Trump administration official told Axios that there was indeed a lack of communication among several agencies. The CBP didn’t coordinate with the Defense Department, and neither coordinated with the FAA, the person said.
The FAA told the Daily Beast in a statement that there had already been a flight restriction in place before the shootdown.
The zone, it said, was “expanded to include a greater radius to ensure safety.” The area “does not impact commercial flights,” the agency said.
The Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the Defense Department, which provided to the Daily Beast a joint statement from itself, CBP, and the FAA.
“This reported engagement occurred when the Department of War employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” it read in part. “The engagement took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of the aviation subcommittee said in a statement that the Trump administration’s “incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” adding that “the situation is alarming and demands a thorough, independent investigation.”
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