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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.
If you read one thing
Reuters gives a clear, broad account of the reported laser use against suspected cartel-linked drones that anchors the Topic.
Best explainer
It connects the operation to civilian-airspace coordination and unresolved sovereignty and use-of-force questions.
The evidence
USNORTHCOM provides an official account of laser defeats within the wider task-force counter-drone effort.
The evidence
It adds the reported decline in drone activity while noting that route changes complicate attributing the drop to the laser.
Latest development
Its report of a production-scale LOCUST X3 contract materially updates the story from deployment toward broader fielding.
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.
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.
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.
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.
eleven drones
drones destroyed by the laser
“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.”
roughly 75% percent
decline in drone activity
“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%.”
about 75% percent
decline in drone flights probing the South Texas border
“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.”
three drones
cartel-linked unmanned aircraft systems defeated
“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.”
roughly 75% percent
decline in drone activity probing the Rio Grande Valley
“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%.”
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.
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.