By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Monday it is taking steps to expedite the use of counter-drone systems to address growing threats.
Several US agencies including the Transportation, Pentagon, Energy and Justice departments have signed a memo to evaluate counter-drone technologies and quickly deploy them safely to protect aviation safety and address national security concerns.
Senior Federal Aviation Administration official Liam McKenna told Reuters the
agency has approved over 1,000 coordinations with the Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department on counter-drone deployments.
McKenna said the FAA was moving to quickly test counter-drone systems and understand their capabilities before a federal agency uses them. "We're very familiar with them from day one when they are ready," McKenna said. "There's many systems that some of the security agencies are considering using that we've seen before and we can turn around the process in 24 hours."
Last month, the FAA said it was barring unauthorized drones
along the entire US border with Mexico. The temporary flight restriction bars any unauthorized drone activity up to 400 feet (122 m) above ground level and extends 1 nautical mile north of the US-Mexico border.
In April, the FAA and Pentagon signed an agreement allowing the government's use of a high-energy laser counter-drone system along the southern US border with Mexico to address drone threats.
The Pentagon has said there are more than 1,000 drone
incursions along the US-Mexico border each month. US security
officials have increasingly expressed alarm about the use of
drones by Mexican cartels to drop drug packages or surveil
trafficking routes.
In February, the FAA said it would halt all flights for 10
days at the El Paso, Texas, airport because of the use of the
Pentagon laser system by Customs and Border Protection without
completion of an FAA safety review. CBP is part of the Homeland
Security Department.
The FAA lifted the El Paso shutdown order after about eight
hours following the White House's intervention.
The US military days later shot down a CBP drone with the
laser-based system, leading the FAA to expand an area in which
flights were barred around Fort Hancock, Texas.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
