WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s southern border task force revealed that it shot down three “hostile” drones there, using what AeroVironment (AV) said was one of its directed energy systems.
According to a release from the Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB) posted Thursday night, task force personnel used an Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) system to “engage and defeat three hostile UAS,” which posed a “physical threat” to US military personnel and US Customs and Border Patrol members. The release did not disclose exactly where the drones were engaged or who was suspected of flying them, but suggested they could have been used for reconnaissance by a drug cartel.
“Cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human-smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners. By integrating layered countermeasures alongside advanced directed-energy capabilities like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of JTF-SB, said in a release.
A spokesperson from AV told Breaking Defense that the task force used one of the company’s non-kinetic counter drone systems — which is the product of the Army’s Multipurpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) program. The spokesperson did not say which particular system was used and did not respond to a request for clarification as of press time. But the original statement referenced a counter-UAS system delivered to the Army in December, the same timeframe that an AV press release said the company delivered its prototype 20kW-class LOCUST.
JTF-SB’s release did not disclose if the laser system was mounted on a vehicle, and a spokesperson for the task force did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
The taskforce carried out the mission under US Northern Command and “in support of” US Customs and Border Protection, the release added. The operation comes after the Pentagon has increased the military’s part in defending against drone threats on the southern border, though not without controversy sparked by previous failures coordinate with civilian agencies.
Generally the Pentagon has also turned the southern border into a “sandbox” of sorts to test new counter-drone capabilities in collaboration with the Army-led Joint Interagency Taskforce 401, as Breaking Defense previously reported. Through this initiative, JIATF 401 has invited industry partners to the border to show off their tech aimed at taking down adversary drones in a cost-effective way that also minimizes the threat of collateral damage to the nearby civilian population.
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