The US military used a new high-energy laser weapon earlier this week to shoot down a party balloon that it initially thought was a foreign drone near El Paso, Texas, according to a US official speaking to Fox News.
The official said the US military had been testing new anti-drone technology, including a laser, near the US Army base at Fort Bliss. After the laser weapon was used to shoot down what was initially assessed as a drone and later identified as a balloon, the airspace in the area was shut down by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Trump administration officials claimed that the FAA and the Pentagon responded to a “cartel drone incursion” despite the object being identified as a balloon. “The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government had no information about a drone incursion and that Mexican airspace hadn’t been closed. “We have no information indicating drone activity along the border,” she said. “If the FAA or any US government agency has relevant information, they can ask directly the Government of Mexico.”
According to a report from CBS News, the FAA decided to close the airspace on Tuesday night over the US military’s testing of anti-drone technology near the El Paso International Airport. The decision was taken without notifying the Pentagon or the White House, and it was reversed on Wednesday after discussions at the White House.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson was very critical of the FAA’s abrupt airspace shutdown, saying it was carried out without coordination with the local government. “This unnecessary decision has caused chaos and confusion in the El Paso community,” he said. “You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership. That failure to communicate is unacceptable.”
