Pentagon weighs antidrone lasers over Washington

The New York Times reports that the Pentagon is considering deploying the LOCUST antidrone laser system at Fort Lesley J McNair, the Southwest Washington Army base where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reside. Drone sightings near the base—attributed to possible Iranian surveillance amid the ongoing US-Iran war—have prompted both the security review and earlier consideration of relocating both cabinet officials.

The LOCUST, manufactured by AeroVironment—which acquired the system's original developer, BlueHalo, in 2025—has been operating along the southern border to counter cartel drone activity. Its border deployment, however, has produced a troubled safety record that complicates any Washington expansion. On 9 February, a laser discharge that struck what turned out to be a party balloon prompted the FAA to shut down El Paso's airspace entirely—a closure the White House reversed within hours. Then, on 25 February, the system accidentally shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, prompting the FAA to expand restricted airspace around Fort Hancock, Texas.

Pentagon and FAA officials have been working to resolve their dispute, including a joint laser test at White Sands Missile Range on 7-8 March, confirmed by Reuters and the Defense Department, where the system was fired at a jet fuselage for eight seconds at full intensity without structural damage. The agencies are now close to a laser-use agreement that would include a NOTAM advising pilots in the El Paso corridor to activate location-broadcasting technology when flying near active laser zones.

Deploying the system in Washington adds another layer of complexity. Reagan National Airport sits roughly two miles from Fort McNair in some of the most congested airspace in the country—and the FAA remains under intense scrutiny following the January 2025 Potomac River midair collision that killed 67 and the March 2026 LaGuardia runway collision that killed two Air Canada pilots.

The Pentagon wants to deploy its LOCUST anti-drone laser near Hegseth's and Rubio's DC residence—the same system that accidentally downed a CBP drone last month. The FAA isn't sold.