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U.S. Military Uses Laser to Shoot Down 3 Cartel Drones at Southern Border, Pentagon Says
Officials said the drones posed a physical threat to U.S. military and Border Patrol personnel, prompting the first known laser shootdown in the border region.
- On Tuesday and Wednesday, the U.S. military used an 'Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser' to shoot down three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, officials said Thursday.
- The Joint Task Force, comprising about 8,000 U.S. service members, was formed last year to support President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and conducted the operation.
- USNORTHCOM officials determined the drones were 'hostile' because they posed 'a physical threat to U.S. military personnel' and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency said.
- Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of the Joint Task Force, stated cartels 'are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human-smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners.'
- While cartels primarily use drones for surveillance and smuggling, Austin Doctor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha noted weaponized drone attacks remain rare inside the United States.
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26 Articles
26 Articles
US laser weapons were first used against Mexican drug cartels that posed a "physical threat" to U.S. military and border guards.
·Kyiv, Ukraine
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The U.S. military has shot down three drones near the Mexican border with a high-energy laser, which is said to have posed a threat to soldiers and border officials.
·Berlin, Germany
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hyun Young-bok = The U.S. military shot down three drones belonging to a Mexican drug cartel using laser weapons in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
·Seoul, Korea (the Republic of)
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources26
Leaning Left4Leaning Right5Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution40% Center
Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources are Center
40% Center
L 27%
C 40%
R 33%
Factuality
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