Lawmakers say US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone

FORT HANCOCK, Texas (AP) — The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, according to members of Congress, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas.

Just over two weeks ago, the FAA shut down the El Paso airport and the surrounding area after another use of an anti-drone laser. This time, commercial flights are not affected by the expanded airspace closure over Fort Hancock.

Rep. Rick Larsen and several other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee said they were notified through official channels.

“Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system,” Larsen and the other representatives wrote. “We said months ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA was a short-sighted idea. Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence.”

The FAA said in a brief statement that the airspace over Fort Hancock was already closed but that was expanded Thursday evening.

The Defense Department and Customs and Border Patrol did not immediately respond to questions.