US military lasers down 11 cartel drones along southern border

Key facts

• The U.S. military has downed 11 cartel drones using lasers along the U.S.-Mexican border.
• The drones were associated with illicit activity and targeted with the Army Multipurpose High-Energy Laser system.
• The Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB) conducted operations on August 25 and 26.
• Over 300 drones have been downed since the start of 2026 using various systems.
• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expressed concerns about U.S. unilateral actions on Mexican soil.

The U.S. military has downed 11 cartel drones using lasers since deploying the technology along the U.S.-Mexican border last week, U.S. officials said. U.S. Northern Command stated the unmanned aerial systems were assessed to be associated with illicit activity and were targeted with the Army Multipurpose High-Energy Laser system as part of a task force operation.

The Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB) conducted operations on August 25 and 26, successfully mitigating three adversarial unmanned aircraft systems using directed energy capabilities. Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of JTF-SB, noted that cartel networks increasingly employ drones for human smuggling and surveillance, and that the integration of advanced directed-energy capabilities makes it clear that hostile surveillance will not be tolerated.

Since the start of 2026, more than 300 drones have been downed using both kinetic and non-kinetic systems in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with over 100 drones taken down in August alone. The military did not specify the exact location of the laser strikes or whether they occurred over U.S. or Mexican territory. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stated that any unilateral U.S. action on Mexican soil would be a grave breach of her country's sovereignty.