New footage is showing just how locked down the skies around President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate have become. U.S. Army Avenger air defense systems, which are Humvee-mounted Stinger missile launchers, have been spotted on a floating barge in Lake Worth Lagoon right next to the Palm Beach property, with more units stationed at the nearby Donald J. Trump International Airport. NORAD and U.S. Northern Command confirmed they deployed ground-based air defenses and counter-drone kits at the request of the U.S. Secret Service, which says it is operating in a heightened threat environment. The systems are built to take on drones, low-flying aircraft, and missiles. Officials declined to share operational details and have not said whether one specific threat triggered the move.

The timing is turning heads because it lines up with rising U.S.-Iran tensions. Trump recently suggested the remaining Iranian nuclear sites could be hit quickly, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no decision has been made on resuming strikes. Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, then ordered his military to answer any threat with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response. No official has publicly linked the Mar-a-Lago deployment to Iran, and the Secret Service has only pointed to its general threat environment. What is on the record is that NORAD says it has intercepted more than 60 aircraft near the estate since January 2025, and some Palm Beach neighbors admit the sight of missile launchers nearby leaves them more uneasy than reassured.