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\n\t\t\t\tConflicting information swirled Wednesday morning on what caused the Federal Aviation Administration to close the airspace around Fort Bliss and El Paso, Texas, and what role the military may have played. (Jacob Lang\/U.S. Army)
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Conflicting information swirled Wednesday morning on what caused the Federal Aviation Administration to close the airspace around Fort Bliss and El Paso, Texas, and what role the military may have played.<\/p>\n
The FAA made the move at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night, announcing the closure of airspace around the El Paso International Airport would last for 10 days. It reversed course and reopened the space roughly seven hours later.<\/p>\n
By noon ET, several media outlets, including the Associated Press, reported the closure was sparked by a disagreement between Defense Department officials pushing to test a drone-busting laser and the FAA\u2019s need to ensure safe air travel.<\/p>\n
Despite a meeting scheduled later this month to discuss the issue, the Pentagon wanted to go ahead and test it, prompting the FAA to shutter the airspace, the AP reported. It was not clear whether the laser was ultimately deployed.<\/p>\n
Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose district will soon include parts of El Paso and Fort Bliss, said Wednesday afternoon that the closure was the result of \u201cgrowing pains\u201d as the military and the Department of Homeland Security gain more funding and authority<\/a> to combat the daily incursions of drones flown into the United States by Mexican drug cartels.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real story here is the military, working with Department of Homeland Security, is moving in the right direction on counter-drone, counter-UAS, operations,\u201d said Gonzales, a retired master chief petty officer.<\/p>\n However, he made very clear that more communication is needed to prevent the confusion and worry that filled many in west Texas. He, too, was surprised to learn in the middle of the night that airspace around El Paso had been immediately closed for 10 days.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople should not wake up and have more questions than answers,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to keep lawmakers informed on what\u2019s happening on a regular basis. The more transparent we can be and the more sharing of information that we can provide, then that offers less room for someone to make up some imaginary thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s massive spending bill<\/a>, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill, included about $500 million for the Department of Homeland Security to spend on counter-drone technology.<\/p>\n The military often uses the term directed energy for lasers and has in recent years begun testing platforms that attach to combat vehicles such as the Stryker armored vehicle. Last year, the Army tested laser systems atop infantry squad vehicles<\/a> at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and at Fort Sill, Okla.<\/p>\n The Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act<\/a> afforded new authorities to test and use counter-drone technology. Drones are sometimes referred to as unmanned aerial systems, or UAS.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is the beginnings of more counter-UAS operations happening and working through the right and wrong way of doing things,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cKeeping the public safe but also accomplishing the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n Fort Bliss is located in El Paso, but it\u2019s the troops deployed on the federal mission who are working along the U.S. border with Mexico<\/a>. Roughly 10,000 troops, primarily soldiers and Marines, operate under the leadership of the Joint Task Force-Southern Border and U.S. Northern Command.<\/p>\n The 101st Airborne Division is the current headquarters leading the task force.<\/p>\n The task force and NORTHCOM referred all questions to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n