Federal officials plan to provide a classified briefing to key senators Wednesday following a pair of drone incidents along the Texas border that led aviation authorities to restrict airspace for commercial flights.
In the most recent incident on February 25, military personnel mistakenly destroyed a government drone using a laser-based anti-drone weapon system near Fort Hancock, Texas. The mishap caused the Federal Aviation Administration to expand flight restrictions in the surrounding area.
Earlier that month on February 18, the FAA initially grounded all flights for 10 days at El Paso’s airport, but reversed the decision within eight hours. The temporary shutdown occurred after Customs and Border Protection deployed high-energy laser systems near the Mexican border to counter drone threats.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, requested the classified meeting to better understand the events. “I asked for the classified briefing because I want to understand exactly what’s happened,” Cruz stated.
The closed-door session will include representatives from the FAA, Pentagon, and Department of Homeland Security, with attendance limited to senior Republicans and Democrats from three key congressional committees, according to congressional staff.
Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, the ranking member on the Commerce Committee, acknowledged the growing significance of drone threats while stressing the importance of coordination between military and aviation officials. “I hope we’re going to hear from them some better plan how we try to address these things in the future. But the environment is changing,” Cantwell remarked.
Pentagon officials declined to provide comments regarding the upcoming briefing.
According to previous reporting, the El Paso airport closure resulted from FAA safety concerns about the laser anti-drone technology. The aviation agency agreed to lift its El Paso restrictions after the Pentagon committed to postponing additional testing until the FAA completes a safety assessment.
Border protection agents deployed the laser technology in February to eliminate four suspected drug cartel drones, despite FAA warnings that the system hadn’t been approved for use near commercial aviation, a congressional aide revealed. Officials indicated this marked the first domestic deployment of such laser technology.
