By David Shepardson and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – The U.S. military shot down a government drone with a laser-based anti-drone system, an accident that prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to bar flights on Thursday in an area around Fort Hancock, Texas, congressional aides told Reuters.
Congressional aides told Reuters the Pentagon used the high-energy laser system to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone near the Mexican border, in an area that often has incursions from Mexican drones used by drug cartels.
The Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration and Customs and Border Protection issued a statement saying the military used a “counter-unmanned aircraft system … to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”
The statement added that the incident “took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity. These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”
U.S. Representatives Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson and Andre Carson, top Democrats on committees overseeing aviation and Homeland Security issues, criticized the lack of coordination in the drone shootdown.
Reuters first reported the incident.
The lawmakers said they warned months ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan proposal to train counter-drone operators and address coordination issues “was a short-sighted idea.”
“Now, we’re seeing the result of incompetence,” the statement said.
The FAA, which cited “special security reasons” in its notice about the restrictions on the airspace near the Mexican border, said it was expanding prior flight restrictions in the area to “include a greater radius to ensure safety” but said it did not impact commercial flights because of its location.
This month, the FAA said it was halting traffic for 10 days at the airport in nearby El Paso, Texas, only to reverse course and lift its order after about eight hours. Fort Hancock is about 50 miles (80 km) from El Paso.
Reuters and other media reported that the closure stemmed from concerns about the use of the laser-based anti-drone system and that the FAA had agreed to drop its restrictions around El Paso if the Pentagon agreed to delay further testing pending an FAA safety review.
Both the Pentagon and CBP told congressional aides earlier this week they believed they could deploy the laser without the FAA’s prior approval.
Senator Tammy Duckworth, the top Democrat on an aviation subcommittee, called for the inspectors-general at the three agencies to investigate the shootdown of the government drone and El Paso incident.
“The Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies,” Duckworth said.
Aides said there was a lack of coordination between the FAA and Pentagon. The government informed congressional offices about the El Paso closure as well as the Fort Hancock incident late on Thursday.
The FAA notice barred all flights in the Fort Hancock area but said air ambulance or search and rescue flights can be authorized with the Joint Task Force-Southern Border. The flight restrictions are to last until June 24.
Government agencies briefed congressional staff earlier this week on the El Paso incident and are expected to brief lawmakers as soon as next week.
CBP deployed the laser technology this month to reportedly take down four suspected cartel drones, despite warnings from the FAA that the technology had not been deemed safe to use in the same vicinity as commercial flights, an aide told Reuters, adding agencies told them the laser had never before been deployed domestically.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jamie Freed and Kim Coghill)
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