Decision also comes despite the CBP's reckless laser weapon balloon-popping incident over Texas back in February.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to give carte blanche approval of the military’s use of laser weaponry to shoot down suspected errant drones in U.S. airspace, reports the New York Times . This decision comes after a controversial move by the FAA, back in February, when it closed airspace in response to the military firing high-energy lasers at suspected drug cartel drones. Those drones over Texas turned out to be “party balloons.” That incident, causing delays to civil aviation with flight paths over the area, likely made relations between the FAA, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Pentagon quite icy.
Now you may be wondering what’s changed to result in the two-month standoff between the FAA and the Pentagon being over. There may have been some political pressure on one side or another – that’s open for debate. However, what we do know is that the FAA has completed its safety assessments.
According to the source, the FAA administrator, Bryan Bedford, shared a report that concluded, “These systems do not present an increased risk to the flying public.” Furthermore, even if the anti-drone laser beams came into contact with civil aircraft, the risk would be minimal, an anonymous FAA insider told the NYT.
You may like Advanced Pentagon laser weapon shot down party balloons instead of drone by mistake, says report US military uses a laser to blast a drone out of the sky on the US-Mexico border UK confirms drone-killing DragonFire laser weapon for Royal Navy destroyers by 2027 The FAA isn’t just going to wash its hands of lasers piercing civil air corridors, though. It is expected to issue advisories to pilots who fly routes over U.S. southern border areas to make them aware of increased anti-drone laser use in these zones. Also, remember that stray drones can be a physical danger to aircraft.
From now on, we assume that the Pentagon will be able to shoot high-energy lasers liberally along the southern border, ostensibly to destroy cartel drug mule drones and the like. It would still probably be wise if they could coordinate with the FAA somehow, despite not needing to ask for permission.
We covered the news of an advanced LOCUST laser weapon system being used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to shoot down “party balloons” back in mid-February this year. It served as a reminder that those controlling the government’s machinery designed to protect us are far from infallible.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/faa-green-lights-military-use-of-laser-drone-zapping-weaponry-in-us-airspace-decision-comes-after-it-was-decided-systems-do-not-present-an-increased-risk-to-the-flying-public#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Nvidia says AI cuts 10-month, eight-engineer GPU design task to overnight job — company is still 'a long way' from AI designing chips without human input
- Acer Predator GX850 SFX power supply review: Solid electrical performance with good efficiency
- Efficiency at Scale: NVIDIA, Energy Leaders Accelerating Power‑Flexible AI Factories to Fortify the Grid
- National Robotics Week — Latest Physical AI Research, Breakthroughs and Resources
- Why we spent 50+ hours retesting Intel’s Core Ultra 270K Plus and 250K Plus
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.