U.S. military officials have seen a 75% decline in Mexican drone sightings at the U.S.-Mexico border in the two weeks since debuting a high-energy laser weapon system to disable the small unmanned aerial systems, according to a new report.
Military stationed at the border in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas used a new type of technology on Aug. 25 and 26 to take down three suspicious drones in U.S. airspace, likely operated by the cartels on the south side of the international border.
Army Col. Robert Felicio, commander of the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade deployed to the border, told CBS News there had been a “significant” reduction in drone activity since the laser was rolled out two weeks ago.
U.S. Northern Command, the military’s homeland-focused command, reported 11 cartel drones taken down by the Army’s Multipurpose High Energy Laser between Aug. 25 and Sept. 4, according to a statement posted late last week.
Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of U.S. Northern Command, said in 2024 that there were likely more than 1,000 drone incursions into U.S. airspace each month.
“I don’t know the actual number — I don’t think anybody does — but it’s in the thousands,” Guillot said in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in March 2024.
Prior to the use of the laser technology, the military used devices that relied on kinetic and nonkinetic energy to disable the drones. Lasers permanently disable drones.
U.S. MILITARY USES HIGH-ENERGY LASER TO INTERCEPT THREE DRONES AT SOUTHERN BORDER
A drone can fly several miles from its operator. Users can operate the drone with a remote control or provide instructions and let the drone operate without a guide. Either way, the owner is able to avoid being captured by U.S. federal law enforcement while smuggling drugs, money, firearms, or other items between countries.
Roughly 8,000 U.S. service members are currently deployed under Joint Task Force-Southern Border since assuming the mission in March 2025.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
