Previously, "The Washington Post" mentioned that the U.S. Department of Defense had a dispute with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over testing a laser system to counter drones, and the latter had once closed the airspace over El Paso, Texas, only to reopen it under pressure from the White House. According to "The New York Times," there was a disagreement between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security on whether appropriate procedures and laws were followed when deploying laser weapons. Whether the FAA had notified the White House or the Pentagon before closing the airspace over El Paso, or the reason for the Pentagon's use of the laser weapon (whether it was to shoot down drones that invaded U.S. airspace or party balloons), all sides had different accounts. High-level officials at the Pentagon had discussed in the spring of last year that according to the law, coordinating with the FAA and the Department of Transportation was required when testing the laser system intended to combat drug-smuggling drones from Mexico. It was during this time, especially after the collision incident at Reagan Airport, that the relationship between the FAA and the Department of Defense became tense—Transportation Secretary DeFazio was striving to implement safety restrictions, while the military tried to bypass them. Since early this year, multiple rounds of communication have taken place among the FAA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security, but no consensus has been reached yet. Subsequently, on the morning of February 9th, members of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) tactical team trained by the Army decided to use the laser system, with military personnel observing from the sidelines. After learning about this, FAA officials were very angry and, after failing to communicate effectively, decided to close the El Paso airspace for ten days on the afternoon of the 10th, and had at least notified the Pentagon and the National Security Council in advance. On the morning of the 11th, Wiles ordered the FAA to reopen the El Paso airspace. Then, the parties began to blame each other. Although there were continuous verbal battles, the FAA at least secured a concession: the new laser system would be temporarily suspended. On Friday, when asked about DeFazio, Trump said he "did a great job."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/1857174073376921/

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