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U.S. military uses laser to shoot down 3 cartel drones at southern border, Pentagon says
Confirmed
August 28, 2026 / 12:08 AM EDT / CBS News The U.S. military this week used a laser to shoot down three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border that were allegedly operated by drug cartels, the Pentagon said Thursday. Three Mexican drug cartel drones near the U.S.-Mexico border were shot down using a military laser in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, U.S. officials reported on Thursday.
And earlier that same month, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly shut down commercial airspace around El Paso following an internal safety disagreement between the FAA and Pentagon over military drone tests that were being conducted near Fort Bliss that sources said involved a high-energy laser system.
"Cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners," Major General Curtis Taylor, the commander of Joint Task Force–Southern Border, said in a statement.
The drones were determined to be "hostile" because they were in "support of activities posing a physical threat to U.S. military personnel" and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, USNORTHCOM said. At the time, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the FAA and Defense Department had "acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion" and that the "threat has been normalized.
Doctor noted the cartels have not used weaponized drones inside the U.S., but they do use them inside Mexico to target rival cartels.
What's confirmed
- August 28, 2026 / 12:08 AM EDT / CBS News The U.S. military this week used a laser to shoot down three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border that were allegedly operated by drug cartels, the Pentagon said Thursday.
- "Cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners," Major General Curtis Taylor, the commander…
- Three Mexican drug cartel drones near the U.S.-Mexico border were shot down using a military laser in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, U.S. officials reported on Thursday.
What's still developing
- The drones were determined to be "hostile" because they were in "support of activities posing a physical threat to U.S. military personnel" and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, USNORTHCOM said.
- And earlier that same month, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly shut down commercial airspace around El Paso following an internal safety disagreement between the FAA and Pentagon over military drone tests…
- At the time, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the FAA and Defense Department had "acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion" and that the "threat has been normalized.
- Doctor noted the cartels have not used weaponized drones inside the U.S., but they do use them inside Mexico to target rival cartels.