cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/47269276
The Federal Aviation Administration has closed airspace over El Paso and parts of southern New Mexico for 10 days under a national defense designation, offering no explanation for the rare move. The FAA order states aircraft violating the restriction could face interception and possible use of deadly force.
Rumor I heard is that the military is planning to start testing some counter drone system, and in discussions with FAA, they couldn’t promise that civilian flights would be safe, so FAA pulled out the big gun.
It sounds like this counter drone system would only be for use on drones that cross the river into us airspace, but I’m not sure of that.
For reference, the US has operated an Air Defense Identification Zone for a long time, that covers Mexican airspace near the border. The air force tries to identify, track, and sometimes intercept all air traffic in the ADIZ. Civilian air traffic is supposed to be on a filed flight plan, in communication with ATC, and have an assigned four digit transponder code. Failure to do so may result in interception by scrambled aircraft.
I would imagine that “cartel drones” in or around Juarez would not be doing the above. But there may also be too many of them to economically intercept with F15s.
Update: It now seems possible that the “cartel drones” may have actually been party balloons.
Party balloons,
Or
99 ways to overwhelm US air defenses.
Party on, Wayne!
On a totally unrelated tangent:
Things to add to my pantry:
Helium
Assorted dick shaped balloons
Chinese lanterns
Popsicle sticks
Elastic bands
Card stock paper
Hey,
The Air Force has experience with balloons now.
Those were “weather balloons”.
And just one at a time.
We can do this.
(If that is a real kill decal, that is hilarious, though)
Sounds to me like their fancy new toy can’t tell the difference between a commercial airliner and a toy drone. I bet Elon built it (with heavy input from Grok, of course)
Musk telling his underlings what to code: “And make sure they only target the black drones! The white drones are off limits!”
This is the information I’m being given as a person who works GPS for the government. Cartel drones is the root cause.
“Fear of” cartel drones would be the root cause, whether that fear is justified or not