US unites five agencies to speed up counter-drone systems
The agreement comes with a drone flight ban along the Mexican border, in force since Oct. 16, and a Pentagon laser that has already been reviewed.
Five U.S. federal departments signed a memorandum Monday to speed up the testing and deployment of counter-drone systems. The ban on drone flights along the border with Mexico, in place since Oct. 16, stays in effect.
The departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, War, Energy and Justice are behind the agreement, which is led by a White House task force created to "restore American airspace sovereignty." It sets up a common process for evaluating anti-drone technology, with one condition: the equipment must not interfere with aircraft or their navigation systems.
Homeland Security describes the memorandum as the third piece of a larger framework. The other two are the Federal Aviation Administration's border restriction and the completed safety review of the War Department's high-energy anti-drone laser.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the measure will help counter "cartel drone" threats and protect personnel in the airspace over the border.
The restriction bars unauthorized drone flights from the ground up to 400 feet (about 122 meters) and out to one nautical mile (1.85 kilometers) north of the line with Mexico. It took effect the day it was announced. War Secretary Pete Hegseth warned at the time that the military would shoot down any cartel drone that puts U.S. sovereignty at risk.
Monday's statements do not mention Mexico or announce any coordination with its government. The closest precedent came in February, when the FAA briefly suspended flights over El Paso, Texas, during counter-drone operations. President Claudia Sheinbaum and local officials criticized the lack of notice.
The memorandum leaves the October restriction as it is. It does make the FAA the body that reviews each new system's risks to aviation, with authority to close more airspace if it sees fit. The details of the current ban are in a notice to airmen (NOTAM) that operators must check before they fly.
