The US military reportedly shot down a CBP drone with a laser | The Verge

Skip to main contentThe homepageThe homepageNavigation DrawerLogin / Sign UpcloseSubscribeComments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...PolicyNewsTechThe US military reportedly shot down a CBP drone with a laserThis marks the second time this month that the FAA closed the airspace near the US-Mexico border due to a drone-related incident.This marks the second time this month that the FAA closed the airspace near the US-Mexico border due to a drone-related incident.by Emma RothFeb 27, 2026, 3:43 PM UTCThe US-Mexico border in Fort Hancock, Texas. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesEmma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.The US military mistakenly shot down a drone belonging to Customs and Border Protection near the Mexican border in Fort Hancock, Texas, according to reports from Reuters and The New York Times. The Thursday incident reportedly led the Federal Aviation Administration to close the airspace where the military fired the anti-drone laser.This marks the second time this month that officials closed airspace near the US-Mexico border due to an incident involving an anti-drone laser. On February 11th, officials closed airspace around the El Paso International Airport for hours after CBP fired an anti-drone laser without coordinating with the FAA, The New York Times reported at the time. Though Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement that the FAA and Department of War moved to “address a cartel drone incursion,” it reportedly turned out to be a party balloon.Now, the FAA, CBP, and the Pentagon tell Reuters that the military “employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” adding that the incident “took place far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity.” This most recent incident reportedly led to a smaller airspace closure and was also done without approval from the FAA, the Times reports.In a joint statement, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), André Carson (D-IN), and Rick Larsen (D-WA) — the top Democrats on committees overseeing homeland security, aviation, and transportation — expressed outrage over the incident. “We said MONTHS ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS [Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems] operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA was a short-sighted idea,” the statement says. “Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence.”Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Emma RothDronesNewsPolicyPoliticsTechMost PopularMost PopularPhones are going to get weird next weekNetflix walks away from its deal to buy Warner Bros. after Paramount came back with a better offerWhy no magnets in Galaxy S26? Samsung R&D chief explainsBurger King will use AI to check if employees say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’The Trump phone sure looks a lot like this HTC handsetAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adMore in PolicyDefense secretary Pete Hegseth designates Anthropic a supply chain riskTrump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AIThe Trump phone sure looks a lot like this HTC handsetCISA is getting a new acting director after less than a yearFedEx will refund customers for Trump’s tariffs — if there ever are any refundsAI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red linesDefense secretary Pete Hegseth designates Anthropic a supply chain riskTina Nguyen2:19 AM UTCTrump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AIHayden Field and Richard LawlerFeb 27The Trump phone sure looks a lot like this HTC handsetDominic PrestonFeb 27CISA is getting a new acting director after less than a yearStevie BonifieldFeb 27FedEx will refund customers for Trump’s tariffs — if there ever are any refundsEmma RothFeb 27AI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red linesStevie Bonifield2:19 AM UTCAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adTop StoriesFeb 27Smuggling podcasts into a Burmese prison8:00 AM UTCTenways nearly perfects the shareable city e-bikeFeb 27Warner Bros. Discovery agrees to $110 billion Paramount merger57 minutes agoXiaomi’s Leica Leitzphone mostly earns the nameTwo hours agoA legendary weather app makes a comebackFeb 27We don’t have to have unsupervised killer robots