Air Defense Missiles Photographed on a Barge Beside Mar-a-Lago as the Secret Service Cites a Heightened Threat
Palm Beach Post photographs taken during the president's Oct. 23 visit show two Army Avenger air-defense systems on a floating barge in the Lake Worth Lagoon, and the Secret Service is asking a court to permanently restrict the airspace over the Palm Beach estate.
The U.S. military has positioned surface-to-air missile systems beside President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, according to photographs published by The Palm Beach Post and reported Saturday by Newsmax, as the Secret Service warns of an elevated threat against the president.
The photographs, taken by Post photographer Greg Lovett during Trump's visit on Oct. 23, show two U.S. Army Humvee-mounted Avenger short-range air defense systems on a floating barge in the Lake Worth Lagoon, along the seawall on the west side of the 17-acre oceanfront estate, with uniformed soldiers visible on the barge. The Post's photographs also show a U.S. Coast Guard boat patrolling the Intracoastal Waterway during the stay, with a crew member in body armor manning a mounted machine gun on the bow. The Avenger is a mobile system built to defend against low-flying aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
"The US Secret Service is operating in a heightened threat environment, and we continuously adapt our protective operations to incorporate cutting-edge tools, technology, and methods to safeguard our protectees," a Secret Service spokesman told The Telegraph, which first reported the deployment. The agency is also seeking to permanently restrict air travel around Mar-a-Lago, citing adverse threat intelligence that includes terrorist threats, according to federal court records; airspace over the estate is already closed subject to restrictions whether or not Trump is in residence.
"Today's threat environment is heightened, real, and dynamic," Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn wrote in a court filing. "The airborne threat vector at Mar-a-Lago is persistent and substantial." Newsmax reported the deployment comes amid the U.S. conflict with Iran and a string of security incidents involving Trump, including the February killing by agents and a sheriff's deputy of an armed man who drove through a Mar-a-Lago gate, and the 2024 gunman spotted at his West Palm Beach golf club.
