U.S. military uses laser to shoot down 3 cartel drones at southern border, Pentagon says - CBS News

The U.S. Military shot down three cartel drones along the U.S.-Mexico border late Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning using an Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday.

U.S. Northern Command, which oversees military defense operations in North America, said the drones were unmanned aircraft systems believed to be operated by drug cartels. The southern border Joint Task Force, a unit of USNORTHCOM, carried out the strikes. Officials did not name the specific location along the border or identify which cartels owned the drones.

For folks in Lubbock, this hits closer than it might look on a map. West Texas sits along one of the primary drug trafficking corridors connecting the border to the rest of the country, and cartel drone operations have been a growing concern for law enforcement across the region. The use of a directed-energy weapon rather than conventional munitions marks a notable shift in how the military is responding to that threat.

The laser system is technology that has been in development for years, now deployed in a real-world interdiction scenario rather than a testing range.

The military has not said whether the drones were carrying contraband, conducting surveillance, or both.