Northern Command confirms Army laser disabled three drones at southern border

Taylor says cartels increasingly use drones for smuggling and surveillance

The U.S. military said Thursday that it used a directed-energy weapon to shoot down three drones it characterized as operated by drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to U.S. Northern Command, the military command responsible for operations in North America.

In a press release, USNORTHCOM said the three unmanned aircraft systems were shot down late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning with what it identified as the “Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system.” The action was taken by the Joint Task Force — Southern Border, a unit that operates along the U.S.-Mexico boundary.

Northern Command did not identify the location of the engagements or specify which cartels allegedly operated the drones. When asked by CBS News whose airspace the drones were over when they were disabled, a USNORTHCOM spokesperson said only that “the shots were taken in coordination with all partners operating along the border.”

“Due to operational security reasons and ongoing counter cartel and counter drone operations, we do not have additional details to provide at this time,” the spokesperson told CBS.

In its release, the military said the drones were “determined to be [hostile] based on their use in direct support of activities posing a physical threat to U.S. military personnel and [Customs and Border Patrol] partners.” The military did not specify what activities prompted the determination.

Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of the southern border’s Joint Task Force, said in a statement that “cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human-smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners.”

“By integrating layered countermeasures alongside advanced directed-energy capabilities like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance,” Taylor said.

The episode follows a February incident in southwest Texas in which a military laser accidentally shot down a drone belonging to the Border Patrol. USNORTHCOM’s announcement did not address that prior incident.

The military’s disclosure did not specify what became of the downed drones, whether any alleged operators were identified, or how the latest engagement fits into the broader pattern of cartel drone activity along the border.