US Army Trains With Anti-Drone Laser at Texas Border as Most Targets Stay Undisclosed
US Northern Command reports more than 300 drones defeated along the US-Mexico border this year, yet only two engagements have had their targets publicly identified. Both were in February: party balloons and a Customs and Border Protection drone.
Soldiers from the US Army's 101st Airborne Division trained with a 20-kilowatt counter-drone laser near Fort Hancock, Texas, on November 2, according to photos the Department of War published the next day. Fort Hancock is where a military laser destroyed a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone on February 26. By the Pentagon's preliminary account, CBP had not told the military that the drone was flying.
Totals without target details
On September 4, US Northern Command said Joint Task Force-Southern Border had defeated more than 300 unmanned aircraft this year, over 100 of them in August. Eleven were brought down with the AMP-HEL, the Army's vehicle-mounted laser. The release does not define a "defeat" and names no drone types or locations. It says the aircraft were assessed to be associated with illicit activity.
Task force commander Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor told DefenseScoop on September 29 that at least 378 drones were detected between August 22 and September 22. Of these, 75 were turned back, 15 were engaged and one was captured. He attributed 95% to 98% of activity to reconnaissance for human smuggling and said no lethal drones had been seen.
The two known cases
The only engagements whose targets have been identified are from February. On February 10, CBP fired a Pentagon-owned laser at objects near Fort Bliss that turned out to be Mylar balloons. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed El Paso's airspace for eight hours, cancelling 14 flights. On February 26, the military destroyed the CBP drone. Both facts emerged through officials and congressional aides speaking to media, not through on-the-record agency statements.
Oversight and restrictions
Senator Tammy Duckworth asked the Defense, Transportation and Homeland Security inspectors general on March 13 to investigate both incidents. DroneXL found no public report from any of them naming the incidents. The FAA cleared military lasers for use in US airspace on April 10. Separately, FAA notices now ban civilian drones within one nautical mile of the border from October 20 through October 19, 2027, with exceptions requiring CBP permission.
