A U.S. military counter‑drone system brought down a Customs and Border Protection surveillance drone near Fort Hancock, Texas, after operators identified the aircraft as a potential threat inside military‑controlled airspace. Federal officials said the engagement occurred in a remote area east of El Paso and prompted the FAA to expand an existing temporary flight restriction while agencies reviewed the incident.
Multiple sources report that the Department of War shot down a drone that was later determined to be operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Military forces near Fort Hancock utilized a laser-based weapon to take down the unmanned aircraft.
It appears the drone was flown in restricted airspace under a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that FAA records show has been in effect since 2023. The NOTAM is scheduled to remain in effect until June 24. The NOTAM authorized the use of deadly force.
Congressional aides report a lack of coordination between the FAA and the Pentagon, which led the FAA to expand the restricted airspace near Fort Hancock.
“This reported engagement occurred when the Department of War employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” the War Department, CBP, and the FAA said in a joint statement.
Breitbart Texas reported extensively on the use of drones by Mexican cartels to transport drugs across the U.S./Mexico border. Cartels also use drones as surveillance vehicles to monitor Border Patrol activity. CBP also utilizes drone technology as a force multiplier to secure the border.
“The threat of cartel drone incursions along the U.S.-Mexico border, estimated at 40,000 to 60,000 incidents per year, was largely ignored under the Biden Administration,” Breitbart Texas’s Randy Clark wrote.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, on February 10, the incursion of a drug cartel drone spawned the issuance of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that restricted aircraft operations for El Paso and parts of eastern New Mexico, effectively closing all air traffic into or out of the border city. The unprecedented move, which initially called for a complete ground stop for all aircraft entering and leaving the El Paso International Airport, raised the ire of local, state, and federal officials, who bemoaned the lack of communication beforehand.
The NOTAM was terminated less than eight hours later, punctuated by a social media post on X by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributing the closure to a cartel drone incursion offering followers a brief description of the conclusion to the air stoppage caused by the cartel drone incursion saying, “The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.”
Officials say the shootdown of the CBP drone took place “far away from populated areas, and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity.”
The agencies pledged to work on increased cooperation.
Fort Hancock, Texas, is located approximately 50 miles east of the previous airspace shutdown in El Paso.
CBS News reported that House Democrats wasted no time in attacking the Trump administration.
Democratic Reps. Rick Larsen, André Carson and Bennie Thompson, all members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said in a joint statement, “Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.” They pointed to lack of coordination between the agencies.
The shootdown underscores the growing strain on federal airspace management along the Texas–Mexico border, where cartel drone activity, expanding counter‑UAS authorities, and overlapping jurisdictions have repeatedly collided.
With lawmakers demanding answers and agencies pledging tighter coordination, the incident adds to a month of unprecedented airspace disruptions in West Texas and raises new questions about how the Pentagon, DHS, and the FAA will prevent similar failures as drone traffic—both hostile and domestic—continues to surge.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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