US Defense Department shoots down border surveillance drone in southwest Texas

By Fatma Zehra Solmaz

ISTANBUL (AA)—The United States Department of Defense shot down a drone operated by the US Customs and Border Protection in southwest Fort Hancock, Texas, federal officials confirmed.

"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 Defense Department, CBP, and the FAA said in a joint statement late Thursday night. The Department of War is the White House's preferred term for the Defense Department.

According to a US official, the drone was brought down using a laser weapon in the area near the US-Mexico border community on Wednesday.

"The engagement took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity," the statement said.

"These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future," it further added.

In a statement given to CBS News on Thursday night, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said an incident had led to the expansion of an existing temporary flight restriction around Fort Hancock, Texas. The restriction was imposed for “Special Security Reasons,” according to the FAA.

The agency also stated that the restriction did not affect commercial flight operations.

In a joint statement on US social media company X, Democratic representatives Rick Larsen, Andre Carson, and Bennie Thompson, members of the US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, criticized the reported shooting down of the drone, citing poor interagency coordination.

The incident is the second this month involving US military-related drone activity near the southern Texas border that led to airspace restrictions, following a Feb. 11 airspace closure around El Paso International Airport due to a dispute over military drone tests near Fort Bliss.