The U.S. military has used an Army high-energy laser to defeat 11 drones assessed as supporting cartel activity along the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Northern Command announced Friday.
The Army Multipurpose High-Energy Laser, known as AMP-HEL, entered border operations on August 24. By September 4, Joint Task Force-Southern Border personnel had used the system against 11 unauthorized unmanned aircraft, according to the command’s operational update.
The task force also reported defeating more than 300 unauthorized drones this calendar year through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic systems.
More than 100 of those actions occurred during August.
U.S. Northern Command did not define what constituted a “defeat” or disclose how many of the aircraft were destroyed, disabled, diverted, or disrupted electronically. Only 11 of the reported actions were specifically attributed to AMP-HEL.
Drones Assessed As Supporting Illegal Activity
Military officials said the targeted aircraft were assessed as being connected to illicit activity along the border.
Transnational criminal organizations use drones to assist smuggling operations and conduct surveillance of military and law enforcement personnel, according to U.S. Northern Command.
The September 4 release did not identify the organizations believed to have operated the 11 drones. It also did not disclose the precise locations of the engagements, the types of aircraft involved, whether they carried payloads, or how authorities determined that they were connected to cartel activity.
“JTF Southern Border’s combined arms approach and fusion with mission partners is delivering a new layer of homeland defense capability to counter illegal activity on the border,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.
Joint Task Force-Southern Border operates in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. More than 8,000 service members are deployed across terrain spanning approximately 1,954 miles of the southern border.
Since taking over the mission in March 2025, the task force has conducted tens of thousands of detection and monitoring patrols, flown thousands of observation missions, cleared vegetation in remote areas, and reinforced hundreds of miles of border with wire barriers, according to U.S. Northern Command.
Laser Mounted On Military Vehicle
The Army acquired AMP-HEL in September 2025 as part of an effort to develop mobile directed-energy defenses against drones and other aerial threats. The system was added to the task force’s layered border defenses in August 2026.
AeroVironment, the defense contractor behind the system, announced the delivery of the first two AMP-HEL prototypes to the Army in September 2025.
Those prototypes combined the company’s 20-kilowatt-class LOCUST laser weapon with a General Motors Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle. The mobile systems underwent government acceptance testing at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona before soldiers received equipment training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
High-energy lasers use concentrated directed energy instead of conventional ammunition to damage or disable aerial targets. The equipment is paired with sensors and tracking technology designed to locate and engage drones.
Earlier Texas Incidents Exposed Coordination Problems
The reported successes follow two concerning counter-drone incidents near El Paso earlier this year.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the military mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone near Fort Hancock in February after determining that it appeared threatening.
The Federal Aviation Administration expanded flight restrictions in the area following the incident. Officials said no commercial aircraft were nearby.
Earlier that same month, CBP used a military laser on loan from the Pentagon to shoot down an object near El Paso that was later reported to be Mylar balloons, prompting the FAA to temporarily close the airspace, according to DefenseScoop.
Following the two incidents, the military, CBP, and FAA said they would increase cooperation and communication to prevent similar mistakes. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) called for a classified briefing to determine exactly what occurred over El Paso, Reuters reported.
Friday’s release did not discuss those incidents or describe what additional identification and airspace safeguards were used during the 11 newly reported laser engagements.
Provided by Dallas Express
