US agencies agree to fast track counter-drone deployment
The FAA has approved more than 1,000 coordination requests to test new systems for protecting airspace and borders.
By Fatou Kim ·
The Trump administration announced on Monday that the United States is moving to accelerate the deployment of counter-drone systems. This action responds to what officials describe as a growing threat to national security and aviation safety.
A joint memo signed by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice outlines the plan. The agencies will evaluate available technologies and work to deploy them safely as quickly as possible.
Liam McKenna, a senior official at the Federal Aviation Administration, stated that the agency has already approved over 1,000 coordination requests with the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. These requests relate to specific counter-drone deployments. McKenna emphasized the FAA's readiness to move fast once systems are prepared for use.
"We're very familiar with them from day one when they are ready," McKenna said. "There's many systems that some of the security agencies are considering using that we've seen before and we can turn around the process in 24 hours."
The FAA has recently tightened rules along the southern border. Last month, the agency barred unauthorized drones from flying up to 400 feet above ground level within one nautical mile of the US-Mexico border. In April, the FAA and the Pentagon signed an agreement to permit the use of a high-energy laser system in that region.
The Pentagon reports more than 1,000 drone incursions along the border each month. Security officials have raised concerns that Mexican cartels use these drones to drop drug packages or monitor trafficking routes. The push for faster deployment follows a dispute in February when the FAA halted all flights at the El Paso, Texas, airport for 10 days.
That suspension occurred because Customs and Border Protection used a Pentagon laser system without completing an FAA safety review. The FAA lifted the shutdown order after about eight hours following White House intervention. Shortly after, the US military shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone with the laser system, leading the FAA to expand a restricted flight zone near Fort Hancock, Texas.
