US Military Shoots Down CBP Drone Near Texas-Mexico Border in Second Friendly Fire Incident in Two Weeks

US Military Shoots Down Friendly Drone for Second Time in Two Weeks, Sparking Congressional Outrage

The US military mistakenly shot down a drone belonging to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) near the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday using a high-energy laser, triggering airspace closures and a wave of condemnation from Democratic members of Congress.

The incident occurred near Fort Hancock, a small community situated directly along the US-Mexico border in Texas. Following the strike, authorities closed the surrounding airspace, disrupting regional air traffic as officials assessed the situation.

A Repeated Pattern of Misidentification

According to The Guardian, which first reported the story, this marks the second time in two weeks that the US military deployed a laser weapon against a drone it mistakenly identified as a threat — only to discover the aircraft was a friendly asset. The repeated nature of the incidents has heightened concerns about coordination and communication between federal agencies operating along the border.

The use of high-energy laser systems to neutralize aerial threats is a relatively recent development in domestic military operations, and deployment in a border context raises significant questions about rules of engagement and inter-agency communication protocols.

Lawmakers React

Democratic members of Congress expressed astonishment and anger in response to the incident, characterizing it as a symptom of broader dysfunction within the Trump administration's approach to border security operations. Lawmakers questioned how two separate agencies of the US government — the military and CBP — could fail to coordinate their drone activities in the same airspace on two separate occasions within a short timeframe.

While Democratic criticism focused on what they described as administrative incompetence, the incidents also raise operational and safety questions that extend beyond partisan lines, including how military targeting decisions are made in domestic airspace and what deconfliction procedures exist between the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

Context: Military Presence at the Border

The Trump administration has significantly expanded the military's role along the southern border as part of its immigration enforcement strategy. That increased military footprint, while welcomed by some as a deterrent, has also created a more complex operational environment in which multiple federal agencies — each with their own aircraft and surveillance assets — share the same airspace.

CBP routinely operates unmanned aerial vehicles along the border for surveillance and monitoring purposes. The military's failure to identify a CBP drone as a friendly asset on two occasions suggests potential gaps in shared operational awareness.

No Official Statement Yet

As of publication, neither the Department of Defense nor CBP had issued official public statements confirming the details of Thursday's incident. The Guardian's report did not include named military or government officials, and independent corroboration from additional news organizations or official sources had not yet emerged at the time of writing.

The lack of transparency surrounding both incidents is itself a point of concern for lawmakers pressing for answers about how such a breakdown in coordination could occur — and how to prevent it from happening again.