Joint Task Force-Southern Border says it used an Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system to engage and defeat three drones it classified as hostile, marking a publicly disclosed use of directed energy in the Pentagon’s southern-border mission. The task force said the aircraft posed a physical threat to U.S. military personnel and Customs and Border Protection members. Breaking Defense reported the operation after the task force released details of the engagements.
The release did not identify the precise location where the drones were engaged. It also did not identify who operated them. The task force suggested that the aircraft may have supported reconnaissance by a drug cartel, but it did not publicly establish the drones’ operator or provide details about their missions.
Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the task force commander, said cartel networks are increasingly using unmanned aircraft for illicit human-smuggling operations and surveillance of military and law-enforcement personnel. His statement framed the laser engagement as part of a layered counter-drone effort rather than as a standalone defense system. The task force said the operation took place under U.S. Northern Command and in support of Customs and Border Protection.
AeroVironment told Breaking Defense that the task force used one of the company’s non-kinetic counter-drone systems associated with the Army’s AMP-HEL program. The company did not identify the specific system involved. That distinction matters because AMP-HEL describes the Army program and its laser capability, while the public account does not establish which AeroVironment configuration performed the engagements.
The timing offers one possible connection to AeroVironment hardware, but not a confirmed identification. The task force’s statement referred to a counter-unmanned-aircraft system delivered to the Army in December. During the same period, AeroVironment announced delivery of a prototype 20-kilowatt-class LOCUST system. The public account did not say that LOCUST was the system used, and the company did not clarify the matter.
The task force also did not disclose whether the laser was mounted on a vehicle. That leaves key operational details unstated, including the system’s deployment arrangement, the drones’ characteristics, the distance of the engagements, and how the laser defeated each aircraft. The available description establishes the reported result and the broad system category, but not the technical circumstances of the three interceptions.
The operation reflects a wider Pentagon effort to use the southern border as an environment for counter-drone activity. The Army-led Joint Interagency Task Force 401 has invited industry participants to demonstrate systems intended to defeat adversary drones at lower cost while reducing the risk of collateral damage near civilian populations, Breaking Defense reported.
The border mission has also expanded the military’s role in countering drone threats alongside civilian agencies. That cooperation has generated controversy after earlier coordination failures, although the release described this operation as supporting Customs and Border Protection. The task force’s next publicly stated step is not specified; the disclosed account provides no schedule for additional deployments, further engagements, or a decision on which AeroVironment system was used.