The United States has deployed Avenger short-range air defence systems armed with Stinger missiles around President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, adding another layer of protection against potential aerial threats, including drones and low-flying aircraft.
According to a report by The War Zone (TWZ), the systems were deployed around two weeks before October 30, following a request from the US Secret Service. The deployment was carried out by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).
The missile systems have been positioned at multiple locations around the estate, including a floating platform in Lake Worth Lagoon, a nearby beach and Donald J Trump International Airport, approximately three miles west of Mar-a-Lago. Photographs published by TWZ show multiple Avenger systems deployed at these locations.
NORAD and USNORTHCOM have also confirmed deploying counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) capabilities as part of the security arrangement. These systems are designed to detect, identify and track drones that could pose a threat to the president or restricted airspace.
The deployment comes amid heightened security concerns over potential aerial threats and follows a series of airspace violations around Palm Beach. According to TWZ, more than 160 aircraft and drones have breached restricted airspace over the area since October 2025.
What is the Avenger air defence system? The AN/TWQ-1 Avenger is a mobile, short-range air defence system developed by Boeing for the US Army to protect military forces and strategic locations against low-altitude aerial threats. Mounted on an M1097-series High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly known as a Humvee, the system combines surface-to-air missiles, a machine gun and advanced target-detection and tracking equipment on a single mobile platform.
According to the US Army's Weapon Systems Handbook 2020-2021, the Avenger is designed to engage unmanned aerial systems (UAS), cruise missiles, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft operating at low altitudes. It can operate during both day and night, in adverse weather conditions and while the vehicle is moving.
The system is operated by a two-member crew and features a rotating turret equipped with two missile launcher pods, each carrying four FIM-92 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, giving it a total capacity of eight ready-to-fire missiles. Each Stinger missile uses infrared guidance to lock onto the heat signature of an aerial target and independently guide itself after launch. This fire-and-forget capability allows the operator to engage a target without having to continuously guide the missile.
The Avenger also carries an M3P .50-calibre automatic machine gun, which provides an additional weapon for engaging close-range aerial threats and ground targets. The machine gun has a basic ammunition load of 250 rounds. The US Army handbook lists the system's target-tracking range at approximately 10 km, while its Stinger missiles have an engagement range of more than 6 km. The M3P machine gun has an engagement range of more than 1 km.
Drones emerge as growing threat to Trump's security The growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in modern warfare has emerged as an additional security concern for US President Donald Trump, prompting authorities to strengthen aerial protection around his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The proliferation of relatively inexpensive drones, including first-person-view (FPV) and fibre-optic-controlled systems, has made it increasingly difficult to detect and counter potential aerial threats. According to The War Zone, Iran has both used and supplied such weapons, raising concerns about the possibility of their use against high-security locations.
The threat is particularly significant because Mar-a-Lago is located close to the Atlantic coastline, potentially exposing the estate to aerial threats approaching from the sea. The War Zone noted that long-range kamikaze drones, which are designed to crash into targets carrying explosive payloads, could pose a particular challenge. Unlike conventional aircraft, small drones can fly at low altitudes and may be harder to detect using traditional air surveillance systems.
