Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has long emphasized the "warrior ethos" he expects from the U.S. military but now his leadership (to say nothing of the Trump administration as a whole) is facing criticism after military personnel shot down a drone operated by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) on Thursday in Texas in yet another display of incompetence.
Lawmakers said that the military used a laser to down a CBP drone at Fort Hancock, leading the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand flight restrictions near El Paso, Texas. The reason for the laser use remains unclear, but it was the second such deployment in the area in two weeks, despite rules requiring coordination with aviation regulators.
A prior laser firing near Fort Bliss failed to hit its target but triggered a temporary shutdown of the city’s airport and surrounding airspace. The latest closure was narrower and did not disrupt commercial flights. The FAA said it widened restrictions near Fort Hancock, while CBP did not respond to questions.
The earlier shutdown, which lasted several hours, rattled residents and caused cancellations. Sources said that episode followed an uncoordinated CBP laser deployment, prompting the FAA to halt flights to protect civilian traffic.
Cartel-linked drones have been reported more often near the border in recent months. A report from Reuters noted that many are little more than off-the-shelf consumer drones, roughly modified for surveillance missions or to deliver drug packages across short distances.
Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said "our heads are exploding" over the news that the Trump administration had deployed experimental weapons without correctly identifying the drone as one of their own.
Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, said "the Trump administration’s incompetence continues to cause chaos in our skies."
Others have also condemned the move.
The Trump administration declined to address the apparent communication failure, instead asserting that cartel-linked drones had entered U.S. airspace and were targeted by the military.
Yet two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the laser strike may have been aimed at something benign—likely a balloon.
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