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.
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.
