The government’s ability to deal with drones that pose a threat to US soil came into question this week after the use of a laser designed to shoot down drones near the border in Texas led to Sudden closing Sources familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the airspace was over El Paso.
Details of exactly what happened before the FAA closed the busy airport in the Mexican border city on Wednesday aren’t entirely clear, but a source familiar with the situation told the AP that the laser was deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection without coordination with the FAA.
2 months ago, Congress agreed To give more law enforcement agencies the authority to shoot down rogue drones as long as they are properly trained. This could increase the likelihood of situations like the one that occurred in El Paso. Previously, only a select few federal agencies had this authority.
Here’s a look at what happened and the issues it raised:
The government will only say that the airspace was closed when the Mexican drug cartel’s drone incursion was neutralized.
But the two people, who discussed sensitive details on condition of anonymity, said the FAA grounded every plane in the El Paso area over concerns about the safety of a laser system used near commercial aircraft. The restrictions were initially expected to last for 10 days, but were lifted after a few hours.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that government agencies involved in the El Paso incident are working to address concerns that led to more than a dozen flights being canceled and sent travelers scrambling.
“This was an interagency task force mission, and we continue to work on communicating through that,” Noem said in Arizona.
But drone warfare expert Brett Velicovich said the Texas dysfunction raises questions about whether the United States is prepared to deal with a major drone threat.
“We need to streamline the authorities on who is really responsible and get this arrogance out of the way of these different agencies before any Americans get hurt,” said Velicovich, who founded drone maker Power.us and advises on ways to mitigate their threats.
Armed drones Destructive attacks are carried out daily in Ukraine. Unmanned vehicles also allowed Ukraine to do so Striking deep into Russia.
Velicovich, who used to use Predator drones in the military to bomb targets, said it wouldn’t be difficult for someone with malicious intent to buy a drone for a few hundred dollars and cause significant damage at a major public event like a World Cup game or America’s 250th birthday celebrations scheduled for this summer.
Cartels routinely use drones to deliver drugs across the Mexican border and monitor Border Patrol officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones had been detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.
government recently Thank you $250 million in grants to the 11 states scheduled to host World Cup matches this summer to help them prepare for the drone threat. Another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to bolster the country’s drone defenses.
the Threat to aircraft Drones continue to increase along with the number of near misses around airports. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States, and that number is growing.
Larger drones are required to carry the radio respondent Which identifies the drone’s owner and broadcasts its location to help avoid collisions. Cities can also invest in additional sensors around stadiums to help quickly detect drones.
Airspace Link, a Detroit company, has created a low-altitude air traffic control system that tracks drones and can alert authorities who may soon be able to take action. Cities can purchase additional sensors to upgrade this system around stadiums or other prominent locations.
“We don’t want anything to happen,” said CEO Michael Helander. “But we also want to be prepared to have the tools to take action, because these are major global events.”
Common anti-drone systems use radio signals to jam drones or force them to land. but The government also developed High-powered microwaves or lasers like the ones sources say were used in Texas this week have been used and are capable of disabling machines.
Some other systems mount small drones to fly quickly and collide with drones deemed a threat. There are systems that use bullets to shoot down drones.
These counter-drone systems are more common in war zones than across the United States, said Michael Robbins, president and CEO of the International Unmanned Vehicle Systems Trade Association. But the government is working to get it into the hands of more officers across the country.
“We believe this technology is important, and when used responsibly with proper oversight and extensive training, it will help mitigate unsafe or harmful drones in the very rare cases where that should happen,” Robbins said.
Allied Pilots Union spokesman Capt. Dennis Tajer said he was unsure how big a threat counter-drone technology poses to the American Airlines planes he flies because few details have been released about what happened in Texas. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration did not respond to questions on the matter again Friday.
One trader said he was more concerned about the possibility of a passenger plane colliding with a drone because that could lead to the plane crashing. A year ago, 67 people were killed in an American Airlines plane crash Plane collided With an Army helicopter near Washington, DC
The trader said: “You do not have to be a pilot, engineer, or defense expert to understand that the presence of two metal pieces in the sky, one of which does not know the other’s existence and cannot be controlled, is dangerous.” “We have to keep these two metal pieces away from each other.”
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Associated Press writer Josh Keleti contributed from Scottsdale, Arizona.