Airspace over El Paso, Texas, was abruptly shut down this week after U.S. authorities used a laser counter-drone system to neutralize a threat, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to ground aircraft in the area over concerns about the laser’s safety near commercial planes, according to two people familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press. The incident has focused attention on how the U.S. is expanding the use of counter-drone technology—and on whether agencies can coordinate it safely as the number of drones near U.S. airspace grows.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Friday that the agencies involved are working to address the concerns that led to the cancellation of more than a dozen flights and left travelers scrambling. Noem said in Arizona that the response was a “joint agency task force mission” and that officials are continuing work “on the communication through that,” reflecting uncertainty over how the operation was coordinated with the FAA.

  • U.S. officials shut down airspace over El Paso, Texas, after using a laser counter-drone system to neutralize a threat, according to two people familiar with the situation.
  • The FAA grounded aircraft in the El Paso area because of concerns about the safety of the laser system being used near commercial planes, the people said.
  • Kristi Noem said the agencies involved in El Paso are working to address communication concerns through a joint agency task force.
  • Drone warfare expert Brett Velicovich said the El Paso episode raises questions about whether the U.S. is prepared to deal with a significant drone threat.

Details of what happened before the FAA grounded flights were not fully clear, but one person familiar with the situation told AP the laser was deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection without coordinating with the FAA. Another two people also described communications breakdowns, saying the FAA shut down aircraft in the area after the laser system was used, and that the restrictions were expected to last about 10 days before being lifted a few hours later.

The El Paso shutdown comes as Congress has approved broader authority for law enforcement agencies to take down rogue drones, as long as personnel are properly trained. Previously, only a select number of federal agencies had that power, and proponents of the change have framed it as a way to expand national defenses against drones that can be used for surveillance and attacks.

Drone warfare has already been a central feature of conflict abroad, and Velicovich, who said he previously used Predator drones while in military roles, warned that countermeasures could face new risks as the technology becomes more accessible. He said it would not be hard for someone with malicious intent to buy a drone for a few hundred bucks and cause harm at a major public event such as a World Cup match or summer celebrations tied to the country’s 250th birthday.

Cartels have also increasingly used drones, officials told Congress last summer, including for drug delivery across the Mexican border and for surveillance of Border Patrol officers. Those officials said more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet (500 meters) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.

With the World Cup approaching and other large events expected, the government has been distributing funds for drone readiness. The AP report said the federal government recently handed out $250 million in grants to 11 states that will host World Cup matches, and it said another $250 million in grants will be awarded later this year to strengthen U.S. defenses against drones.

More near-misses involving drones have continued alongside the rise in drone registrations. Homeland Security estimates there are more than 1.7 million registered drones flying in the United States, and the number has been growing. Larger drones are required to carry a radio transponder that identifies the drone’s owner and broadcasts its position, and cities can add sensors near stadiums to help detect drones quickly.

Airspace Link, a Detroit company, created a low-altitude air traffic control system intended to track drones and alert authorities about potential threats, including near venues hosting major events. Michael Healander, the company’s chief executive, said officials both want to prevent harm and be prepared to respond, saying: “We don’t want something to happen,” but “we also want to be prepared to have the tools in place to take action, because these are such big global events.”

The technologies used to counter drones can vary. AP reported that common systems rely on jamming radio signals or forcing drones to land, while the U.S. has also developed high-powered microwaves and laser beams capable of disabling drones. Other approaches include deploying small interceptor drones to ram into targets or using bullets to shoot down drones, though a trade-group leader said such systems are still more common in warzones than across the U.S.

Michael Robbins, president and CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International trade group, said the organization believes the counter-drone technologies can help mitigate unsafe or malicious drones “in the very rare instances where that needs to occur,” provided they are used with oversight and training. He said, “It’s our belief that this is important technology that when responsibly used with proper oversight and intensive training will help to mitigate unsafe or malicious drones in the very rare instances where that needs to occur.”

Pilots’ groups have said they need more information about how counter-drone systems operate near commercial aircraft. Allied Pilots Association union spokesman Capt. Dennis Tajer said he was not sure how big of a threat the laser technology is to the airliners he flies because so few details have been released about what happened in Texas. Tajer also said he was more concerned about the risk of a passenger jet colliding with a drone, pointing to an earlier incident in which an American Airlines jet collided with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., killing 67 people.

Tajer said, “You don’t have to be a pilot, an engineer or a defense expert to understand that two pieces of metal in the sky that one doesn’t know the other is there and is uncontrolled is dangerous,” and added, “We’ve got to keep those two pieces of metal away from each other.”