U.S. Army Uses High-Energy Laser to Neutralize Three Drones Near the Rio Grande Border

Between the night of August 25 and the early morning of August 26, Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) employed an Army Multipurpose High-Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) system to defeat three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) judged hostile for posing a physical threat to U.S. military personnel and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) partners in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The laser shots were the first documented use of AMP-HEL against cartel-linked drones on the southern border.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

The AMP-HEL program, launched in September 2025, seeks to field mobile directed-energy weapons that detect, track, and disable aerial threats. AeroVironment delivered the first two 20-kilowatt-class LOCUST laser prototypes to the Army in 2025, later integrated onto General Motors Defense Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISV) and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV). The technology is intended to augment layered counter-UAS defenses as a low-cost alternative to kinetic missiles.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• Laser power: 20 kilowatts (LOCUST).

Wired Magazine

• Drones neutralized: three.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• Cost per laser shot (Tom’s Hardware): ? $13, far lower than missile-based intercepts.

US military uses high-energy lasers to shoot down three Mexican cartel drones over the southern border — narcos suspected of using UAVs for surveillance and reconnaissance to support illegal activitie

• U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) described the drones as “hostile” because they threatened U.S. personnel and CBP partners.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of JTF-SB, said cartel networks are using UAVs for illicit human-smuggling and surveillance.

US military uses high-energy lasers to shoot down three Mexican cartel drones over the southern border — narcos suspected of using UAVs for surveillance and reconnaissance to support illegal activitie

• An AeroVironment spokesperson confirmed an AMP-HEL system was employed but declined to identify the exact model or vehicle mount.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford noted a safety assessment found the laser system does not increase risk to the flying public.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• Location of engagement: Sources place the shots in the Rio Grande Valley, but it remains unclear whether the drones were in U.S. or Mexican airspace.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• Drone origin and operators: No cartel group was named, and the provenance of the UAVs has not been disclosed.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• Exact laser platform: While AeroVironment confirmed use of an AMP-HEL system, neither the Army nor the manufacturer specified whether the LOCUST was mounted on an ISV, JLTV, or another vehicle.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border

• “Cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human-smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners,” — Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander, Joint Task Force-Southern Border

US military uses high-energy lasers to shoot down three Mexican cartel drones over the southern border — narcos suspected of using UAVs for surveillance and reconnaissance to support illegal activitie

• “The need for these systems from real world events is clear: the time is now for directed energy to get into the hands of warfighters everywhere and we are confident that LOCUST meets that need,” — John Garrity, Vice President of Directed Energy Systems, AeroVironment

Interesting Engineering

The engagement shows mobile directed-energy weapons can be operationally ready for border security, providing a rapid, low-cost response to UAV threats used by transnational criminal organizations. Integrating such systems into existing vehicle platforms expands counter-UAS capabilities without relying on expensive missile inventories.

Interesting Engineering

U.S. Northern Command has indicated the border will continue to serve as a “sandbox” for testing and refining counter-drone technologies, though specific future deployments or training timelines have not been disclosed.

U.S. Military Laser Shot Down Three Cartel Drones at the Border