Border Counter-Drone Laser OperationsBorder Counter-Drone Laser OperationsCoverage from The Defense News, The National Interest, and others
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This subject centers on U.
S. military use of the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser against drones suspected of supporting cartel surveillance, reconnaissance, or migrant-smuggling operations near the U.S.-Mexico border. Reported actions in the Rio Grande Valley involved three drones and included coordination with U.S. Northern Command, NORAD, Joint Task Force-Southern Border, and Customs and Border Protection. The operations also raise practical and legal questions about counter-UAS authority, civilian airspace, the location of engagements, and whether force was used within U.S. territory or across the border.
Its report of a production-scale LOCUST X3 contract materially updates the story from deployment toward broader fielding.
The Defense News
Key Issues
01
Laser capability is in operational use
AMP-HEL has moved beyond demonstration into border operations: officials reported 11 laser defeats within a broader counter-UAS effort using kinetic and non-kinetic methods. The laser adds a physical-destruction option where jamming may only divert a drone temporarily.
Drawn from 3 articles
02
Procurement points toward larger-scale fielding
The reported $464.8 million Army agreement for dozens of LOCUST X3 systems adds a production-scale procurement track to the border deployments. Low engagement costs are cited as an advantage, while acquiring the systems themselves requires substantial investment.
Drawn from 3 articles
03
Reported activity decline has uncertain attribution
Officials reported roughly 75% less drone activity in the Rio Grande Valley after laser deployment, alongside reports of 11 laser destructions. The decline does not establish deterrence: officials cited possible route changes, and one account noted that no public baseline was provided.
Drawn from 3 articles
04
Safe employment and jurisdiction remain constraints
Weather can reduce laser effectiveness, while civilian-aircraft risks make target identification and interagency coordination consequential; earlier mistaken engagements and airspace restrictions illustrate the safety challenge. Reporting also leaves some engagement locations and airspace authority unclear, keeping cross-border jurisdiction questions unsettled.
Drawn from 3 articles
Key Numbers
eleven drones
drones destroyed by the laser
in ten days
“Cartel drone activity over the Rio Grande Valley has reportedly dropped roughly 75% since the U.S. Army began using a high-energy laser on August 25, according to military officials cited by CBS News. The laser destroyed eleven drones in ten days.”
DroneXL and 1 other article
roughly 75% percent
decline in drone activity
Rio Grande Valley after high-energy laser deployment
“Less than two weeks after the U.S. military first used a high-energy laser weapon against suspicious drones, military officials told CBS News that drone activity probing the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley had fallen by roughly 75%.”
News 9 and 1 other article
about 75% percent
decline in drone flights probing the South Texas border
less than two weeks after Aug. 25–26
“Drone flights probing the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas have fallen by about 75% in less than two weeks since the military first used a high-energy laser to destroy suspicious aircraft, officials told CBS News.”
Florida's Voice
three drones
cartel-linked unmanned aircraft systems defeated
over the U.S.-Mexico border · August 25 and 26
“U.S. Northern Command used a high-energy laser system over the U.S.-Mexico border to disable and ultimately bring down three drones linked to a Mexican drug cartel.”
Military.com
roughly 75% percent
decline in drone activity probing the Rio Grande Valley
less than two weeks after deployment
“Less than two weeks after the U.S. military used a high-energy laser weapon to destroy suspicious drones, officials told CBS News that drone activity probing the southern border in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley had fallen by roughly 75%.”
AOL
Looking Back
59 Day Timeline
Articles published over time. Hover any bar for the period and its article count.
Aug 25
Sep 4
Sep 14
Sep 24
Oct 2
Oct 12
Oct 22
The Story So Far
New development
Border laser operations gain a first production-scale procurement commitment
The Army reportedly awarded AeroVironment a $464.8 million agreement for dozens of LOCUST X3 systems, adding a production-scale procurement commitment to the already reported border deployments. The Topic now includes both operational use against suspected cartel-linked drones and plans to deliver additional systems over the coming years.
Previously
U.S. forces have begun using mobile AMP-HEL lasers and other counter-drone systems along the southern border, reporting 11 laser defeats and more than 300 total UAS defeats in 2026. Mexico and the United States are also coordinating a Tijuana-San Diego operation, while target identification, airspace safety, and cross-border authority remain unsettled.
History
10/27/2026
New contracting and testing activity points toward expanding high-energy-laser capability beyond the initial border engagements. The newly specified August 25–26 interceptions add detail to an operation whose overall takedown count was already reported.
10/23/2026
The current version largely reiterates the reported laser interceptions, activity decline, and operational constraints; it adds no material change to the story.
In late August and September 2026, U.S. Army forces used AMP-HEL against drones in Texas while awarding AeroVironment a $464.8 million LOCUST X3 production agreement.
9/24/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The US Department of Defense used an AeroVironment LOCUST high-energy laser near the Mexico-United States border to destroy three suspected cartel-operated drones.
9/19/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. military reported in August that suspected cartel-linked drone activity fell roughly 75% in Texas's Rio Grande Valley after troops deployed AeroVironment LOCUST lasers.
9/8/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Army units reduced reported cartel-linked drone activity by roughly 75 percent in Texas' Rio Grande Valley after deploying vehicle-mounted laser weapons.
9/8/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military operators used an AeroVironment LOCUST laser near Texas's Rio Grande Valley in August to destroy suspected cartel-linked drones and reduce border incursions.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. Army deployed AeroVironment LOCUST laser systems in Texas's Rio Grande Valley, destroying 11 cartel-linked drones over 10 days and coinciding with a reported 75 percent activity decline.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. Army used an AeroVironment LOCUST X3 laser in Texas beginning August 25, destroying eleven cartel-linked drones while officials reported an unverified 75% activity decline.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. Army reported that AMP-HEL laser deployments reduced suspected cartel-linked drone flights by about 75% in Texas's Rio Grande Valley after August intercepts.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. military destroyed 11 suspected cartel-linked drones with a high-energy laser in Texas during August as drone probes in the Rio Grande Valley declined roughly 75%.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military officials reported in August that LOCUST high-energy lasers deployed along the Rio Grande Valley helped reduce suspected cartel drone activity by roughly 75%.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military officials reported in the Rio Grande Valley that suspected drone activity fell roughly 75% after deployment of the LOCUST laser system near the southern border.
9/7/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Northern Command reported in September 2026 that Joint Task Force-Southern Border used the Army's AMP-HEL laser against 11 unauthorized drones along the U.S.-Mexico border.
9/4/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. troops used the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser in Texas on Aug. 25-26 to destroy three suspected cartel-linked drones threatening military and border personnel.
9/1/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Army personnel used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser at Fort Bliss, Texas, earlier this week to defeat three drones believed linked to drug cartels.
8/31/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Northern Command destroyed three suspected Mexican cartel drones near the southern border earlier this week using an Army high-energy laser system.
8/30/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Northern Command said Joint Task Force-Southern Border used an AMP-HEL directed-energy system in southern Texas to defeat three hostile drones on two August nights.
8/29/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
Protecting the Homeland Joint Task Force Southern Border used an Army high-energy laser to defeat three cartel-linked drones on August 25, 2026, along the US southern border.
8/25/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
US Northern Command and interagency forces tested layered counter-drone systems during the fourth Falcon Peak exercise in Arizona late last month as officials reported 378 cartel-drone detections.
10/8/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military forces are using laser and jamming systems to counter cartel drones along the U.S.-Mexico border, with Joint Task Force-Southern Border reporting more than 300 defeats this year.
10/15/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. Army used AMP-HEL to intercept suspected cartel drones in Texas during Operation Ardent Vanguard, after FAA and Pentagon approval for domestic laser operations.
9/16/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
Joint Task Force-Southern Border used the AMP-HEL directed-energy system at Fort Bliss, Texas, on August 25 and 26, 2026, to defeat three hostile drones linked to cartel activity.
8/26/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
US Army officials at an Association of the United States Army convention in Washington, DC, described E-HEL vehicle integration and laser use against cartel-linked drones at the southern border.
10/22/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Northern Command said on September 4, 2026, that U.S. forces had used an Army high-energy laser to down 11 cartel-associated drones along the U.S.-Mexico border.
9/4/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. military took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones along the southern border in August through coordinated operations involving Task Force-Southern Border, Mexican authorities, and multiple counter-drone systems.
9/3/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
NCITE researchers and U.S. officials reported cartel drone surveillance and laser interceptions at the U.S.-Mexico border, with 300 drones stopped since the beginning of the year.
9/15/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The Pentagon said the U.S. Army used a Multipurpose High Energy Laser System near the U.S.-Mexico border to destroy drones allegedly linked to cartel activity.
9/10/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The U.S. military recently deployed AeroVironment's LOCUST laser system to counter cartel-linked drones near the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border.
10/9/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
Joint Task Force-Southern Border used AeroVironment's AMP-HEL laser to defeat three cartel-linked drones this week along the southern U.S. border, at undisclosed locations.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military forces used an Army high-energy laser on August 25-26 in Texas's Rio Grande Valley to destroy three cartel drones near the Mexican border.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military forces used laser weapons three times near Texas' Rio Grande Valley to shoot down cartel drones involved in border surveillance and smuggling support.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The US military destroyed three cartel-linked drones with an AMP-HEL laser near Texas's Rio Grande Valley on August 25 and 26, 2026, amid unresolved cross-border airspace questions.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. Northern Command used a high-energy laser near the southern U.S. border between Tuesday and Wednesday to destroy three drones reportedly linked to cartels.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military forces used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser near southern Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday to destroy three cartel drones threatening personnel along the Mexican border.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military forces used an AMP-HEL laser to destroy three alleged cartel surveillance drones Tuesday night through Wednesday morning near the U.S.-Mexico border.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
The Joint Task Force-Border Security used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser to destroy three cartel drones this week along the U.S. southern border.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. News & World Report / Mike Stone; Jasper Ward37
U.S. military forces used an Army high-energy laser late Tuesday and early Wednesday near Texas' Rio Grande Valley to destroy three cartel drones threatening border personnel.
8/27/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
U.S. military forces used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser to destroy three suspected Mexican cartel drones near the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Texas this week.
8/28/2026 • Counter-Drone & Airspace Security • General
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