The US military shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone over Texas on Thursday, according to three Democratic lawmakers.
The Federal Aviation Administration has expanded a temporary airspace closure around Fort Hancock for “special security reasons,” two weeks after a separate incident over nearby El Paso prompted flight restrictions for several hours.
However, the FAA told Business Insider in a statement that commercial flights would not be affected this time.
“A temporary flight restriction (TFR) was already in place around the Fort Hancock area,” the statement said. “The TFR has been expanded to include a greater radius to ensure safety. “
Top Democratic lawmakers in the House Transportation and Homeland Security committees said on Thursday evening that the incident had involved the Defense Department shooting down the Border Protection drone with a “high-risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.”
The term is often used to describe anti-drone lasers, but the lawmakers issuing the statement — Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and Rep. André Carson of Indiana — did not specify the name of the system.
“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,” the statement said. “Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence.”
It’s not immediately clear when the incident occurred, or if the airspace closure around Fort Hancock is directly related.
The previous airspace closure over El Paso, which The New York Times reported was prompted by the downing of a party balloon, had also involved the use of an anti-drone laser.
The FAA’s restriction is scheduled to last until June 24, though it’s unclear if the closure will remain for the full listed duration. The El Paso closure was initially scheduled to last 10 days, but was lifted after a few hours.
The CBP and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.
