Surface to Air Missile Defense Systems Deployed at Mar-a-Lago and DJT International Airport at Request of Secret Service Amid “Heightened Threat Environment”
Surface-to-air missile and air defense systems have been placed at Mar-a-Lago and Donald J. Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach, with the US Secret Service saying there is a “heightened threat environment.”
The Secret Service said the military is providing the anti-aircraft, anti-drone, and anti-missile systems “in support of our protective operations.”
Officials are also moving to permanently restrict the airspace over President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.
“The only reason that they would do that is that they had a credible threat,” said aviation expert and pilot Michael Leighton.
“Drone warfare has become a big thing, and the government, DoD, Department of Defense, their biggest concern is that an enemy, domestic or foreign, would use a drone guided by our GPS signals, the same GPS signals that you have in your car and on your cell phone.”
“They’re concerned about things that we don’t have enough time to scramble an F-16 to intercept because it takes a few minutes for that F-16 to get there. Whereas, if a target was identified and there was a problem, a ground-based surface-to-air Anti-aircraft missile could be launched in seconds,” he added.