US Edition
Counter-Drone Technologies Are Evolving—but There's No Surefire Way to Defend Against Drone Attacks
The laser neutralized Mexican drug cartel drones, causing over a dozen flight cancellations during the temporary closure, highlighting coordination issues among agencies.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection deployed a laser near El Paso, prompting the FAA to shut down airspace on Wednesday and cancel more than a dozen flights before lifting restrictions hours later.
- Growing detections and registrations show the scale of the threat as officials told Congress more than 27,000 drones were detected near the southern border and DHS estimates over 1.7 million registered drones.
- Technology options range from jamming to interceptor drones and kinetic measures, while the Allied Pilots Association warned about collision risks involving commercial passenger jets.
- Officials acknowledged communication failures and said agencies are addressing them, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calling it a joint agency task force mission as experts including Brett Velicovich urged clearer authority after Texas coordination issues.
- Funding and detection systems are being expanded to strengthen defenses, with another $250 million in grants later this year and Airspace Link, Detroit company, providing low‑altitude traffic control systems.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace
WASHINGTON — Last spring, in the early months of Steve Feinberg’s tenure as deputy defense secretary, Pentagon staff members briefed him on plans to employ new high-energy laser weapons to take out drones being used by Mexican cartels to smuggle drugs across the southern U.S. border. But their use was conditioned on getting a green light from aviation safety officials. The law, the staff members at the Pentagon explained to him, required extensi…
Mexico's week in review: El Paso fiasco and China's courtship complicate the diplomatic landscape
The grim discovery of the kidnapped miners' bodies in Concordia, Sinaloa, cast a dark shadow over a week already clouded by conflicting narratives from Washington, Beijing and Mexico City on matters of trade and security.
Congress let more law enforcement agencies to down rogue drones. Then Customs and Border Protection fired a laser, shutting down an airport
Drone warfare expert Brett Velicovich said the dysfunction in Texas raises questions about whether the U.S. will be prepared to deal with a significant drone threat.
Counter-drone technologies are evolving—but there's no surefire way to defend against drone attacks
When the Federal Aviation Administration closed the airport in El Paso, Texas, and the airspace around it on Feb. 10, 2026, the cause was, ironically, the nearby use of a technology that could be key to keeping airports and airspace open and safe.
The customs agency asked to use a sophisticated system against drones, the air force said no (too much danger to aviation). Then used it last Monday. And the unprecedented blockade
Associated Press News
What to know about the counter drone technology that triggered the closure of the El Paso airspace
The government’s ability to deal with drones that pose a threat on American soil has been questioned this week after airspace was closed over El Paso, Texas.
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