Airspace Shut Down After U.S. Government Shoots Its Own Drone

The Pentagon used a laser to accidentally shoot a Customs and Border Protections drone out of the sky in Texas on Thursday.

“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 Pentagon, CBP, and the Federal Aviation Administration said in a joint statement. “These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”

The statement failed to mention that the “unmanned aerial system” the Pentagon shot down belonged to the U.S. government.

This incident, occurring just weeks after the CBP shut down El Paso airspace to shoot down some party balloons, continues to highlight the brash, reckless, and overly gung-ho mentality that has come to define the Pentagon in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tenure.

“Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high-risk counter-unmanned aircraft system,” ranking House Committee on Homeland Security member Bennie G. Thompson and other Democrats said in a joint statement. “We said MONTHS ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA was a short-sighted idea. Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence.”