FAA closes El Paso and New Mexico airspace for 10 days

[jarlrmai]

Sorry if it upset you, but I took your post as a joke. The notion that "advanced laser weapons" should be the standard approach toward a simple balloon struck me as being a ludicrous overkill.

There are many things done by responsible societies to protect people that on the face of might seem overkill, but are there because we value life.

 

[Mendel]

There are many things done by responsible societies to protect people that on the face of might seem overkill, but are there because we value life.

"We're fighting balloons because we're pro-life"??

For drones, weaponry typically includes weapons intended to disrupt its electronics, starting with simple radio/GPS jammers.

 

[Gary C]

There are many things done by responsible societies to protect people that on the face of might seem overkill, but are there because we value life.

The key word being "responsible". Most reporting indicates the lasers were not being operated by trained Army Air Defense branch personnel as part of an integrated air defense network, but rather by the cos-play operators of DHS. The system they were using was not designed or intended for law enforcement use and failure to effect basic coordination with the FAA indicates an utter lack of awareness over the public safety risks of using this technology in air space being transited by civilian aircraft.

The FAA was right in closing the airspace until the situation could be clarified. At least someone was cognizant of just how far off the rails this sort of behavior could go if left unchecked. https://www.metabunk.org/threads/mh...n-ukraine-and-the-netherlands-v-russia.14323/

 

[deirdre]

Most reporting indicates the lasers were not being operated by trained Army Air Defense branch personnel as part of an integrated air defense network, but rather by the cos-play operators of DHS. The system they were using was not designed or intended for law enforcement use and failure to effect basic coordination with the FAA indicates an utter lack of awareness over the public safety risks of using this technology in air space being transited by civilian aircraft.

is it believable the army would just deliver one of it's 4-6 expensive lasers over to non military personnel? Trump made a new Task Force last year.

Article:

Following President Trump's Executive Order "Protecting the American People Against Invasion," the DoD has made protecting the southern border its top priority. It also supports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in ensuring 100% operational security.

The mission is to conduct all-domain operations to control the U.S. southern border in support of CBP to protect the territorial integrity of the United States.

Source: https://www.army.mil/article/284048/joint_task_force_southern_border_assumes_authority_of_southern_border_mission

Dont get me wrong, the army does do stupid stuff.. like when they let that young woman flying the helicopter take out a passenger plane in DC. But expensive and rare military equipment?? sounds doubtful.

 

[Gary C]

is it believable the army would just deliver one of it's 4-6 expensive lasers over to non military personnel? Trump made a new Task Force last year.
View attachment 88623

Article:

Following President Trump's Executive Order "Protecting the American People Against Invasion," the DoD has made protecting the southern border its top priority. It also supports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in ensuring 100% operational security.

The mission is to conduct all-domain operations to control the U.S. southern border in support of CBP to protect the territorial integrity of the United States.

Source: https://www.army.mil/article/284048/joint_task_force_southern_border_assumes_authority_of_southern_border_mission

Dont get me wrong, the army does do stupid stuff.. like when they let that young woman flying the helicopter take out a passenger plane in DC. But expensive and rare military equipment?? sounds doubtful.

The sources said the Defense Department led the development of the technology, but CBP was physically operating it this week. Another source familiar with the matter said Defense personnel were present when the device was used.

Your doubt is noted. Also your attempt to avoid the important issues.

The Russian backed crew of the SA-11 that shot down MH17 was obviously proficient enough to acquire a target and engage it with a missile. That they failed to consider or verify the possibility of civilian aircraft in their sector speaks to operational incompetence at nearly every level above them. The failure to coordinate with the FAA and the employment of military weapons in what is clearly not a war zone speaks to similar levels of callous disregard for civilian safety while in pursuit of political goals on the part of DHS and DOW. I really don't care which is more to blame at this point.

 

[deirdre]

Also your attempt to avoid the important issues.

i said the army does do stupid stuff. they took down a passenger plane in DC. because the werent workign with the FAA closely enough apparently.
that's fairly important dont you think?

my comment was in response to all the people agreeing with your assertion that "coplay DHS operators" (ie border patrol) shot the laser.

 

[Gary C]

i said the army does do stupid stuff. they took down a passenger plane in DC. because the werent workign with the FAA closely enough apparently.
that's fairly important dont you think?

my comment was in response to all the people agreeing with your assertion that "coplay DHS operators" (ie border patrol) shot the laser.

And I clarified that that the entire operation was ill conceived and reckless regardless of who was ultimately in charge. But since you want to blame anyone but DHS, your irrelevant injection of the DC plane crash is also off-base.

"Contributing factors include:

• the limitations of the traffic awareness and collision alerting systems on both aircraft, which precluded effective alerting of the impending collision to the flight crews;
• an unsustainable airport arrival rate, increasing traffic volume with a changing fleet mix, and airline scheduling practices at DCA, which regularly strained the DCA air traffic control tower workforce and degraded safety over time;
• the Army's lack of a fully implemented safety management system, which should have identified and addressed hazards associated with altitude exceedances on the Washington, DC, helicopter routes;
• the FAA's failure across multiple organizations to implement previous NTSB recommendations, including Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast In, and to follow and fully integrate its established safety management system, which should have led to several organizational and operational changes based on previously identified risks that were known to management; and
• the absence of effective data sharing and analysis among the FAA, aircraft operators, and other relevant organizations. We determined that the probable cause of this accident was the FAA's placement of a helicopter route in close proximity to a runway approach path; their failure to regularly review and evaluate helicopter routes and available data, and their failure to act on recommendations to mitigate the risk of a midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; as well as the air traffic system's overreliance on visual separation in order to promote efficient traffic flow without consideration for the limitations of the see-and-avoid concept. "

Source - https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/DCA25MA108.aspx