US Military Shoots Down 3 Drones Suspected of Belonging to Cartels With Laser

    The US military used a high-energy laser to shoot down three drones suspected of working for Mexican cartels along the southern border. The unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed during an operation conducted from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. The system was operated by US Northern Command. The operation used a military laser system called the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser System.    Curtis Taylor, commander of the joint task force for the southern border, said cartel networks are increasingly using drones to assist human smuggling and monitor border personnel. The military is countering this by deploying multilayered defenses together with directed-energy weapons. Officials did not disclose whether the drones were shot down in US or Mexican airspace. The operation was coordinated with all partners working along the border.    The use of laser weapons in US airspace has previously resulted in the wrong targets being shot down. In February, one of the largest airports was closed in an emergency and flights were severely disrupted after a similar system fired on unidentified aerial objects. The targets were later found to be recreational balloons. Several weeks later, another drone that was shot down belonged not to a cartel but to US Customs and Border Protection.    Additional information about the latest incident has not been shared for operational security reasons. Although these types of laser systems are expensive to acquire, the cost of a single shot can be as low as $13. Each launch of a portable surface-to-air missile costs thousands and sometimes millions of dollars. The United Kingdom plans to deploy the DragonFire laser on the navy’s destroyers by 2027. China, meanwhile, has developed a portable, bag-sized anti-drone laser system capable of hitting a target from 1,600 feet away.