NYT: US military uses high‑energy laser to shoot down drone

The U.S. Department of Defense shot down a drone belonging to the Department of Homeland Security over a small border town near El Paso on February 26, using a high‑energy laser, according to four people familiar with the episode who were not authorised to speak publicly about it.

The strike prompted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to close nearby airspace, echoing a similar incident earlier this month in the same region. In that earlier episode, officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) fired a military‑loaned laser at what they believed was a drone. It later emerged the target was a metallic balloon, and the FAA again briefly shut the skies in response, sources tell the New York Times.

In both cases, the high‑energy lasers were deployed without prior approval from the FAA, a breach that many aviation safety experts say violates federal law.

The most recent laser engagement has raised alarm among Democratic lawmakers and intensified scrutiny of apparent communication failures among powerful U.S. government agencies responsible for airspace safety and border security.

A preliminary internal report from the Pentagon said Customs and Border Protection did not notify the Defense Department that it was launching a drone in the area on the night of the incident, leaving the military to regard it as an unidentified aircraft, a Defense Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Despite tensions between the agencies, officials sought to present a unified message in a joint statement released the night of February 26.

“This reported engagement occurred when the Department of War employed counter‑unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” the statement read, adding that the Pentagon, the FAA and Customs and Border Protection “will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”

By Sabina Mammadli