By JOSH FUNK<\/p>\n
Anti-drone lasers used near the southern border by the U.S. military and Homeland Security to combat cartel drones are safe and shouldn\u2019t necessitate airport closures, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday after a review prompted by airspace closures in Texas earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The FAA and Defense Department have signed an agreement outlining the safety precautions that they say will protect travelers anytime these lasers are used, but their statement didn\u2019t spell out what those safeguards will be.<\/p>\n
The FAA didn\u2019t immediately respond to questions seeking more details about the agreement.<\/p>\n
In early February, the FAA closed the airspace around the\u00a0El Paso airport<\/a>\u00a0for several hours after another agency used a counter-drone laser without notifying the aviation safety regulator. That left many travelers scrambling to find new flights. A second, more limited airspace closure later that month followed the military shooting down a drone owned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.<\/p>\n A demonstration of the lasers conducted last month at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico convinced the FAA that they can be used safely.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue working with our interagency partners to ensure the National Airspace System remains safe while addressing emerging drone threats,\u201d FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in a statement.<\/p>\n Drones are commonly used along the border by Mexican cartels looking to deliver drugs or surveil officers. Officials told Congress last summer that more than 27,000 drones were detected within 1,600 feet of the southern border in the last six months of 2024.<\/p>\n