Report: Anti-Drone Laser Test Prompted El Paso Airspace Closure

Elected officials push for answers after sudden shutdown.

Zach Vasile

Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 02:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A Southwest Airlines 737 is loaded for a flight at El Paso International Airport. [Credit: Shutterstock/Royce Ngiam]

Key Takeaways:

The brief shutdown of El Paso airspace was reportedly caused by confusion over Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) testing and deployment of an anti-drone laser at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Defense Department-developed laser was used to target suspected drones, including one instance where it was aimed at what was later identified as a party balloon.
Significant miscommunication occurred, as the FAA restricted flights after being notified by CBP, but key federal agencies and local El Paso authorities were reportedly not adequately informed of the reason or potential impacts.
While foreign and cartel-operated drones are active in the area, local officials criticized the FAA for a lack of transparency and coordination regarding the flight ban, citing concerns about emergency services.

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A new possible explanation for the brief shutdown of the airspace in El Paso, Texas, surfaced late Wednesday—confusion over the testing of an anti-drone laser at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sources cited by CBS News said the Defense Department has been experimenting with a high-powered laser at Fort Bliss, which abuts El Paso International Airport (KELP). The technology was used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier this week to target a suspected drone, which turned out to be a party balloon.

The agency notified the FAA that it would be using the laser, CBS News reported, and FAA officials moved to restrict flights over El Paso, initially for a period of 10 days, to minimize risk to civilian aircraft. There is believed to have been some kind of miscommunication, and as a result the White House, Pentagon, and Department of Homeland Security were not alerted ahead of time, the news outlet said.

The unnamed sources indicated that foreign drones are active near the border, and one said that at least one UAV believed to be operated by a drug cartel was disabled during the CBP operation.

The FAA briefly closed airspace around El Paso International Airport (KELP) early Wednesday morning. [Credit: El Paso International Airport]

The new details follow reports from earlier Wednesday that some kind of counter-drone system was being used in the El Paso area. That information also came from unnamed federal officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Shortly after the temporary flight restriction was canceled Wednesday morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA was reacting to a “cartel drone incursion.” He did not mention the anti-drone laser.

The FAA’s sudden flight ban and its cancellation only hours later left local officials and emergency services in El Paso scrambling for information. The city’s mayor slammed the FAA for failing to coordinate with El Paso’s airport, police, and hospitals, since the closure could have affected emergency response and medical flights.

“Still today, we have no information and we have no correspondence with the FAA, why there was a shutdown in our community,” Mayor Renard Johnson told CNN. “Keep in mind that, you know, 9/11 shut down our airport for only two days, but a drone was going to shut down our community for 10 days. It just doesn’t make sense to us here.”

Members of Congress who represent the El Paso area and Texas generally said they are working to get more information from the FAA and the military.