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Posted on 09/08/2026 5:50:36 AM PDT by Twotone
McAllen, Texas — Less than two weeks after the military first used a high-energy laser weapon system to down suspicious drones, military officials told CBS News there has been a roughly 75% decrease in the number of drones probing the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley.
The system made its debut by taking down three drones on Aug. 25 and 26 after months of training, including an episode that caused the Federal Aviation Administration to briefly shut down El Paso's airport earlier this year. Since then, military officials told CBS News there is regular coordination with the FAA to ensure the laser does not pose a risk to civilians.
The U.S. military already has tools that use jamming to send some of the dozens of drones that appear daily back to where they came from, but the laser gives the option to bring a drone down if it is a suspected threat. Since the beginning of the year, the military has stopped 300 drones officials say are linked to cartels, including 11 the laser took down over a span of 10 days.
"When you just send it back and then it comes back up or is defeated temporarily, but the game changer is ensuring that that tool can't be used again against you," said Army Col. Robert Felicio, commander of the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade that's deployed to the border.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
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One can only imagine the despair in the CBS offices as they were forced to publish this news.
Shoot them all down.
This is very good news and I suspect the technology will only improve as time goes by. Marvelous!
Can you imagine how much fun those kids are having shooting lasers at drones? It is like a real life video game and they are protecting their country at the same time.
Yes, but why does our military not have laser weapons to defend against drone attacks?
Exactly, and the ones that drop on our side should be examined for any evidence they may present that can be useful.
The U.S. Army awarded a $464.8 million production contract to AeroVironment, Inc., this week for the Enduring-High Energy Laser program (E-HEL), marking the first production contract for a directed energy system in the U.S. military’s history, the company stated in a release Wednesday.Rather than deploying missiles to shoot down unmanned aircraft, the E-HEL fires a laser beam at its targets and can reload its magazine through the system’s power supply, according to the Army.
AV will deliver dozens of 30 kW LOCUST laser weapons capable of taking down smaller drones that fit within what the Defense Department characterizes as groups one through three. Those include miniature UAVs comparable to the Air Force’s Wasp III to the Army’s RQ-7B Shadow in the larger class.
The E-HEL program builds on the success of the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) prototypes currently in use by U.S. soldiers.
- https://www.ga.com/advanced-weapons-technology/laser-weapon-systems
You mean "did not," see post above.
Money and politics.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4394644/posts?page=24#24
Missle Command! hehe
I was wondering when lazers would be used against the drones. They are the most effective and low cost method.
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