Avenger Short-Range Air Defense System Deployed By NORAD
The military has set up anti-aircraft guns at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s private estate in Palm Beach.
The units are on a barge in the Intracoastal Waterway, adjacent to the property and in full view of anyone who drives or walks past on Southern Boulevard.
“This is supplemental, complemental to the security of the president with any low-flying platform,” said retired Army Lt. Colonel Octavio Perez, a defense intelligence expert told NBC.
It’s called the Avenger Short-Range Air Defense System. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, deployed the system at the request of the Secret Service. It provides another layer of security, in addition to the military personnel, fighter jets, and local police presence already in use whenever Trump visits Mar-a-Lago.
Humvee-mounted Avenger batteries feature Stinger missiles and .50-caliber machine guns.
The Secret Service has not said why the anti-aircraft guns are necessary. Perez thinks the timing of the Avenger deployment probably is related to the G20 Summit coming to Miami and other national and international events.
Photo credit WPTV
