Secondly, contrary to popular belief, cartel leaders are smart enough to know not to directly mess with and attract the wrath of the US military when that's not good for their core business.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford on Tuesday night decided to close the airspace — without alerting White House, Pentagon or Homeland Security officials, sources said.

...

Customs and Border Protection used the laser weapon earlier this week after training from the U.S. military, according to multiple sources familiar with its deployment. Officials had recently given the FAA a 10-day window in which the technology would be used.

The anti-drone technology was launched near the southern border to shoot down what appeared to be foreign drones. The flying material turned out to be a party balloon, sources said. One balloon was shot down, several sources said.

The Mexican cartels have been running drones on the border lately, the sources said, but it was unclear how many were hit by the military's anti-UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) technology this week. One official said at least one cartel drone was successfully disabled.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airspace-closure-followed-spat-...

Could have been little green men! But what exactly happened is probably (or should be) classified.

If some American civilians (if not illegals) flying by at the time of the foreign incursion are put in harm's way as sacrificial collateral damage in order to protect us in the heat of the moment, that's just the cost of freedom and we should all celebrate it, else leave for somewhere abroad with values that better align with an urge to welcome foreign invasion. Such a tragedy would be so easily avoided if the borders were simply closed and everyone stopped welcoming Mexican cartels into their communities, right? Balloon news is a distraction.

Firing lasers at party balloons in American cities, everyone else be damned. OPSEC is clear.

(Less alarmingly but more personal: my personal prediction to this effect, expressing distrust about statements like this in real time, got flagged right here on HN because apparently our leaders lying to our faces about news relevant to our community is "politics" and unseemly to discuss.)

  99 ministros de guerra
  Fósforos y bidones de gasolina
  Se creían gente muy astuta
  Ya olfateaban un gran botín
  Gritaron: “¡Guerra!” y querían poder
  Hombre, ¿quién lo hubiera pensado?
  Que alguna vez llegaría tan lejos
  Por culpa de 99 globos

More pragmatically, such a system would cost multiple millions, and would take years to actually stabilize in a manner that would recover the fictitious costs to shutting down the airports with gaps. (i.e. I'm surprised you so easily bought into the 500k figure)

All because a bunch of idiots lost track of their one balloon, once? The asymmetry is banal. There are cheaper ways that require less planning than that.

Responding to a single party balloon with a giant laser, thus causing a saner government official to close the airspace because some moron is firing giant lasers into the air, is unusual. Probably not a usable asymmetric attack vector.

You don't need a balloon. A real gun will do.

https://abcnews.com/US/tsa-fails-tests-latest-undercover-ope...

"The news of the failure comes two years after ABC News reported that secret teams from the DHS found that the TSA failed 95 percent of the time to stop inspectors from smuggling weapons or explosive materials through screening."

https://1023thebullfm.com/texas-bans-outdoor-balloon-release...