The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Boeing 767 laser test turned a messy border-security incident into a major aviation safety precedent. After an uncoordinated military laser use near El Paso in February disrupted civilian airspace and reportedly downed a friendly government drone, regulators and defense officials needed proof that counter-drone lasers could operate near the National Airspace System without threatening passenger aircraft. That proof ultimately came at White Sands Missile Range, where the FAA and defense partners tested the Army’s massive AMP-HEL system against a grounded 767 fuselage.