U.S. Military Reportedly Shoots Down DHS Drone in Texas: ‘Our Heads Are Exploding’

AP Photo/Kevin Wolf

The U.S. military shot down a Customs and Homeland Security drone on Thursday evening, which led to the abrupt closure of airspace over Fort Hancock, Texas, lawmakers said.

At 6:30 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration closed the airspace, citing “special security reasons.” The FAA’s official notice of the closure currently says the closure will remain in effect until June 24.

As it turns out, the “special security reasons” involved a friendly fire incident in which the U.S. military shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a laser-based anti-drone system.

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), the top Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, and other Democratic lawmakers on the panel said they were informed of the incident 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 Democrats said in a statement. “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 noted that some airspace over Fort Hancock was already closed, and that the no-fly area was expanded after the military shot down the DHS drone.

On Feb. 11, the Federal Aviation Administration cryptically and suddenly announced the immediate closure of airspace over El Paso for, again, “special security reasons.” An anonymous Trump administration official told NBC News that “Mexican cartel drones” had breached U.S. airspace. However, CBS News reported that the closure was due to “disagreements over drone-related tests.”

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