GeeBee Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 National Security TFR SFC to 17,999 thrown up around KELP for 10 days. All flights prohibited even air carrier. What is up there?
201er Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 It's not your usual TFR that prohibits all the fun but permits all the heavy iron. This one prohibits everything with no exceptions.
Mark89114 Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 I want to say something political, but will keep my mouth shut. The other message boards are also completely clueless. Seems like a massive government overreach. It is for the children and safety of course.
dkkim73 Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 22 minutes ago, Mark89114 said: Seems like a massive government overreach. It is for the children and safety of course. That's been true for decades, though. If this one is different perhaps something interesting is happening.
Greg Ellis Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 It has been reported within the last hour that they have reopened KELP and all flights will resume as normal. FAA says El Paso airport is reopening and flights will resume normally
GeeBee Posted February 11 Author Report Posted February 11 The latest report is it was in response to Mexican cartel drones that breached US airspace. They said the threat has been "neutralized". Hmmmmmm. Wonder if that involves a "kinetic response". https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/faa-halts-all-flights-el-paso-international-airport-10-days-special-security-reasons
N201MKTurbo Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 Sounds like an act of war on Mexico’s part. But the US military put down the uprising in short order. 2 1
GeeBee Posted February 11 Author Report Posted February 11 2 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said: Sounds like an act of war on Mexico’s part. But the US military put down the uprising in short order. Black Jack Pershing lives! 1
dkkim73 Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 2 hours ago, GeeBee said: Black Jack Pershing lives! Just read up on that. I didn't know much about that history. Very interesting. Probably some parallels if the cartels are involved. "Black Jack" is a great nick name. I guess that's the Army for you, fearsome-sounding nick names.
Fly Boomer Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 6 minutes ago, Sue Bon said: They shot down a party balloon? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airspace-closure-followed-spat-over-drone-related-tests-and-party-balloon-shoot-down-sources-say/ Yeah, but we really killed that balloon! 2
Marc_B Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 What makes it a party balloon? the "party supplies" that are carried on board? ehem ehem.
dkkim73 Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 We'll see what it turns out to be. Saw another report a directed energy weapon was used, it's paywalled so I didn't see the details. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/faa-halts-el-paso-flights-for-unspecified-security-reasons-163e0966?mod=hp_lead_pos4 Kind of brings up an interesting issue if this is used more often. I suppose they could coordinate some short-notice closures with ATC, but woe to the quiet NORDO supercub minding its own business in the area. Or the Cessna 206 sightseeing near Juarez. That's my story anyway.
Hank Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 This topic is briefly mentioned in the middle of this article, which tackles larger topics than just KELP. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/western-hemisphere-defense-chiefs-convene-after-border-drone-scare-prompts-airspace-closure
PT20J Posted Thursday at 12:54 AM Report Posted Thursday at 12:54 AM (edited) Government cluster-f. CBP testing high energy laser anti-drone weapon. FAA says they couldn’t guarantee safety to civilian aircraft. White House blamed Mexico. FAA may have been right since system apparently couldn’t tell difference between a drone and a party balloon. Back to the drawing board. Edited Thursday at 03:06 AM by PT20J Corrected CBP not DOD fired lasar. 4
DCarlton Posted Thursday at 06:55 AM Report Posted Thursday at 06:55 AM 5 hours ago, PT20J said: Government cluster-f. CBP testing high energy laser anti-drone weapon. FAA says they couldn’t guarantee safety to civilian aircraft. White House blamed Mexico. FAA may have been right since system apparently couldn’t tell difference between a drone and a party balloon. Back to the drawing board. Could this be the new normal for border security? Other than identifying a balloon as a threat, perhaps they did everything right? Or yeah it could be a pissing contest between agencies…
MikeOH Posted Thursday at 07:31 PM Report Posted Thursday at 07:31 PM 12 hours ago, DCarlton said: Or yeah it could be a pissing contest between agencies… DING! DING! DING! That's my bet....someone at the FAA didn't like co-ordinating with CBP...so, they decided to show 'em who is boss!! Dude may be now working at Walmart 1
GeeBee Posted Friday at 01:27 AM Author Report Posted Friday at 01:27 AM At least we shot down the balloon rather than letting it map all of North America's military bases. 3 2
Will.iam Posted Friday at 05:32 AM Report Posted Friday at 05:32 AM On 2/11/2026 at 6:54 PM, PT20J said: Government cluster-f. CBP testing high energy laser anti-drone weapon. FAA says they couldn’t guarantee safety to civilian aircraft. White House blamed Mexico. FAA may have been right since system apparently couldn’t tell difference between a drone and a party balloon. Back to the drawing board. That’s not surprising as the patriot missile system when it was first deployed had to be manually fired as the automatic part kept targeting friendly aircraft and left on automatic would have been ugly.
Ragsf15e Posted Saturday at 10:56 PM Report Posted Saturday at 10:56 PM On 2/12/2026 at 9:32 PM, Will.iam said: That’s not surprising as the patriot missile system when it was first deployed had to be manually fired as the automatic part kept targeting friendly aircraft and left on automatic would have been ugly. They’ve still managed to shoot a lot of friendly aircraft! https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/patriot-accidentally-downed-u-s-jet-1.358200 https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/31/military.iraq
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