The U.S. military was given the go-ahead to use anti-drone lasers near the southern border to combat cartel drones or other national security drone threats after signing an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 10.
The FAA and Department of War signed the pact after completing a safety assessment of the drones and observing demonstrations of the systems at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico last month, according to the departments.
“The FAA’s top priority is protecting the safety of the American flying public, and we value the collaboration with the Department of War in that effort,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford in a statement. “Following a thorough, data-informed Safety Risk Assessment, we determined that these systems do not present an increased risk to the flying public.”…