![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/airport-laser-pentagon-trump.jpg\")
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\t\t\tIllustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins \/ Futurism. Source: Getty Images\n\t<\/p>\n
When the Federal Aviation Administration announced it was shutting down El Paso Airport this morning, social media lit up with speculation.<\/p>\n
Had freedom-hating terrorists planted anti-aircraft weapons in the desert? Was the government covering up an early-stage zombie apocalypse with El Paso as ground zero? Or had the Trump administration perhaps started firing high-energy laser weapons into the sky without bothering to tell anyone?<\/p>\n
The answer, impossibly, seems to be door number three.<\/p>\n
According to CBS News<\/a>, the bizarre airspace closure came under orders from FAA administrator Bryan Bedford. Apparently, Bedford made the call after learning that the Pentagon planned to unleash high-energy, counter-drone laser weapons at Fort Bliss, situated right next to El Paso International Airport.<\/p>\n But wait, there\u2019s more. Separately, Fox News reported<\/a> that military personnel had shot down a rogue party balloon \u2014 like you\u2019d see at a child\u2019s birthday party \u2014 near El Paso, after misidentifying it as a foreign drone. Whether this was done using the Pentagon\u2019s mega-laser is unclear at the moment, but it\u2019d be a wild coincidence if this wasn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n The airspace closure occurred without alerting White House, Pentagon or Homeland Security officials, sources told CBS. Originally, the closure was said to last 10 days, citing \u201cspecial security reasons.\u201d The FAA\u2019s original notice<\/a> warned that the \u201cgovernment may use deadly force\u201d against planes if officials decided \u201cthe aircraft poses an imminent security threat.\u201d<\/p>\n In Bedford\u2019s defense, CNN reports<\/a> the military laser weapon deployment came nine days before a February 20th meeting to review the system\u2019s potential impacts on commercial aviation. <\/p>\n Again, it isn\u2019t clear if the Pentagon went ahead and deployed the laser system before officials could meet. That said, CNN\u2018s sources said the Defense Department was seeking to use the system in El Paso before such a sit-down could take place.<\/p>\n