By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it is barring unauthorized drones along the US border with Mexico as the government steps up efforts to address concerns about illegal cross-border drug shipments.
The temporary flight restriction bars any unauthorized drone activity up to 400 feet (122 m) above ground level and extends one nautical mile north of the US-Mexico border. In April, the FAA and Pentagon signed an agreement allowing the government’s use of a high-energy laser counter-drone system along the southern US border with Mexico to address drone threats.
The Pentagon has said there are more than 1,000 drone incursions along the US-Mexico border each month. US security officials have increasingly expressed alarm about the use of drones by Mexican cartels to drop drug packages or surveil trafficking routes.
“By restricting unauthorized drone activity, we are giving commanders greater awareness, greater decision space, and more options to defend the homeland,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, adding that the military “will shoot down any cartel drone that threatens America’s sovereignty.”
In February, the FAA said it would halt all flights for 10 days at the El Paso, Texas, airport because of the use of the Pentagon laser system by Customs and Border Protection without completion of an FAA safety review. CBP is part of the Homeland Security Department.
The FAA lifted the El Paso shutdown order after about eight hours following the White House’s intervention.
The US military days later shot down a CBP drone with the laser-based system, leading the FAA to expand an area in which flights were barred around Fort Hancock, Texas.
DHS vowed closer communication with other agencies after the incident.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Friday that the restrictions “will help counter cartel drone threats, protect our personnel, and strengthen security in the airspace above the border.”
Earlier this year, media reports said drones were seen over Fort McNair in Washington where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth live.
In May, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters the counter-drone system is used only along southern border and is not used at Fort McNair, which is close to Reagan Washington National Airport.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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