FAA Halts Flights After Pentagon Drone Incident

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded flights on Thursday following reports that a military laser anti-drone system accidentally downed a U.S. government drone near Fort Hancock, Texas. This incident has raised concerns regarding coordination between military and government agencies.

While the FAA and the Department of Defense have not provided immediate statements, the FAA mentioned “special security reasons” for the airspace restrictions near the Mexican border.

In a joint statement, Representatives Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson, and Andre Carson—key Democrats overseeing aviation and homeland security—criticized the lack of communication from the Pentagon, which allegedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone.

Sources indicated that the Pentagon seemingly deployed a high-energy laser system that mistakenly targeted the drone, which is not unusual given the frequent incursion of drones used by drug cartels in that area.

Neither CBP nor the White House provided comments when asked for details.

Earlier this month, the FAA had briefly suspended traffic at an airport close to El Paso but reversed that decision about eight hours later. Fort Hancock lies roughly 50 miles from El Paso.

Reports suggest the FAA planned to lift the flight restrictions around El Paso, but only if the Pentagon agreed to pause further testing until the FAA completed a safety review regarding laser systems.

Aides have noted that communication failures between the FAA and the Pentagon contributed to the confusion surrounding the incident. The government informed Congressional offices about the airport closure and the Fort Hancock drone situation late Thursday.

The FAA’s notice prohibits all flights in the Fort Hancock area, though exemptions for air ambulance and search-and-rescue missions are possible with permission from the Joint Task Force at the southern border.

These aviation restrictions are set to persist until June 24th.