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Border Counter-Drone Laser Operations
Coverage from The Defense News, The National Interest, and others
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.
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.
The current version largely reiterates the reported laser interceptions, activity decline, and operational constraints; it adds no material change to the story.
The story now includes a reported $464.8 million Army agreement for dozens of AeroVironment LOCUST X3 systems, indicating a move from border use toward larger-scale procurement.
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.