U.S. Army Humvee-based AN/TWQ-1Avenger short-range air defense systems (SHORADS) have been set up near President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as at Donald J. Trump International Airport, about three miles to the west. The Avengers were deployed about two weeks ago amid heightened concerns about the president’s safety.
Iran threatened Trump’s life long before he ordered the joint attack with Israel on the Islamic Republic in February. Airstrikes wiped out much of Iran’s senior leadership structure at the onset of Operation Epic Fury. Now the American leader is mulling over plans to renew attacks on Iran as early as next week. In addition, Trump has been the target of assassination attempts and threats not connected to Iran. There may also be elevated security concerns surrounding the midterm elections.
Officials would not provide any specific reasons for the presence of the SAM systems when we asked.
“At the request of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and under NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and USNORTHCOM [U.S. Northern Command] authorities, NORAD and USNORTHCOM recently deployed ground-based air defense [GBAD] assets and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System capabilities in and around Mar-a-Lago, Florida,” the commands told us in a statement. “These assets add a complementary layer of technology to enhance protection. Due to operational security, we are unable to provide additional details. For further detail, we refer you to the USSS.”
“The U.S. 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,” the Secret Service told us. “At the request of the U.S. Secret Service, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command are providing Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System capabilities in support of our protective operations.”
NORAD/NORTHCOM declined to say what kinds of ground-based air defense assets are involved or where they are set up. However, Getty Images photographs show two Avenger systems set up on a floating platform in Lake Worth Lagoon on the Mar-a-Lago shoreline and one on the beach.
There are also at least two Avengers at nearby Trump International Airport.
The command did confirm to us that it sent its Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System Fly-Away Kits to support these operations. These are rapidly deployable systems to react to drone threats or ongoing incursions consisting of passive and active sensor systems, such as electro-optical and infrared cameras, Ku-band radar, and electronic support measures, to help spot, classify and track drones. Electronic warfare systems can also be deployed as part of these fly-away kits.
The Avenger is a turreted system with two launchers, each capable of holding four Stinger heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles. The Stinger missiles they fire have been upgraded to deal with drones. Avengers are meant for point defense of forces on-the-go but have also played a major homeland defense role since 9/11. One is even hard-mounted on a rooftop near the White House for air defense purposes.
The deployment of these systems illustrates just how seriously the U.S. Secret Service is taking the threat of drones. Drone technology, including first-person view types and those equipped with fiber optics, is rapidly proliferating around the world and Iran has been both a user and distributor of these weapons. The Islamic Republic has uses long-range kamikaze drones, which could be a particular threat, especially considering Trump’s estate’s close proximity to the sea, which offers a most likely launch option. It’s also worth noting that traditional aircraft are also a threat and the Stingers are capable of dealing with them too.
These assets are meant to augment the NORAD-enforced temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) over the Mar-a-Lago airspace. There is a standing TFR that runs through Oct. 20, 2027. Additional ones are created when Trump visits the area.
“More than 160 planes and drones have breached the airspace over Palm Beach since the restrictions took effect in October 2025, according to an Aug. 11 FAA filing in federal court” that was first reported that month by the Palm Beach Daily News.
The most recent publicly announced incursion took place Oct. 24.
“A NORAD F-16 fighter aircraft intercepted a general aviation aircraft over Palm Beach, Florida, at approximately 12:20 p.m. EST today after the aircraft entered a NORAD-enforced FAA Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) area over Mar-a-Lago,” the command stated in a media release at the time. “After the fighter jet executed a standard headbutt maneuver to gain the pilot’s attention, the civilian aircraft established communication and safely exited the restricted airspace in full compliance with flight instructions.”
These combat air patrols (CAPs) are standard for presidential visits. Even when Trump is at Mar-a-Lago for days, there are usually CAPs flying overhead, which are extremely resource-intensive, as we explained in a previous story about one that took place during Trump’s first term.
The deployments of Avengers to Florida mark at least the second time since August that these systems have been used to protect Trump. Avengers were seen on Aug. 9, when Trump was attending the final round of the LIV Golf Bedminster tournament at his New Jersey golf course.
In that situation, NORAD told us that when deployed to assist the Secret Service in protecting POTUS, the Avenger systems are operated by the 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command. The command today declined to say if that is the case with the current deployments.
On Aug. 1, the White House shared a video of Trump talking with soldiers at Bedminster. In the background was an Avenger.
.@POTUS visits with our great military armed forces in NJ
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) August 1, 2026pic.twitter.com/ee5jqRLfTW
Trump, as we noted earlier in this story, has already been the subject of several assassination attempts and threats.
The most notable came on July 13, 2024, at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a man fired a shot at Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed, and a bloodied Trump was whisked away.
Prior to those attempts, Iran made a golf-related threat against Trump.
An image highly suggestive of a drone targeting the then-former President Trump on a golf course in a “vengeance” strike in retaliation for the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was posted on Twitter by an account for Iran’s then-Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. military killed Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq in January 2020, which had already prompted public threats from Iranian officials, including against Trump specifically.
Twitter suspended the @khamenei_site account around 15 hours after the post when the image first appeared on Jan. 21, 2020.
Khamenei himself was killed Feb. 28 during the opening night of Operation Epic Fury.
There has been extreme concern for Trump’s safety following the launch of that operation, with an Iranian revenge hit on the president being more plausible now than ever. This has triggered major changes in safety protocols, some of which have made headline news.
Alarms were raised earlier this month after U.S. intelligence found Iran has “‘substantially increased’ its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with lethal plots reaching ‘advanced stages,'” Axios reported, citing an Oct. 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio the outlet obtained.
The Avengers are the most visible indication of increased efforts to protect Trump amongst threats that are unlikely to recede anytime soon.
Contact the author: howard@twz.com
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