US military took down about 100 suspected cartel drones at southern border in August

WASHINGTON - U.S. military units took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones along the southern border in August, a senior War Department official told Fox News.

Task Force-Southern Border used counter-unmanned aircraft systems, including high-energy laser gear, to defeat the aircraft, the official said. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the systems are meant to protect personnel and border operations. About 8,000 troops fall under Joint Task Force-Southern Border in the current posture described in the Fox News exclusive.

Cartels have used small drones to watch patrol routes, move contraband and test gaps in coverage. Cheap commercial airframes can carry cameras or small payloads and are hard to spot at night without dedicated sensors. Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor has spoken to the operational need for layered defenses as those tactics spread. Fox News also noted earlier use of an AMP-HEL laser system to defeat three hostile unmanned aircraft on Aug. 25-26, illustrating the same mission set at smaller scale.

Coordination with Mexican partners remains part of the wider border security picture, officials said, even as U.S. forces focus on force protection north of the line. Military downings target aircraft assessed as hostile or linked to cartel activity around troop and border-mission areas, not routine civilian hobby flights inland.

Detection gear, electronic attack and directed energy each play a role depending on range and clutter. Units train to avoid collateral risk when drones fly near roads, power lines or populated stretches of the borderlands.

For readers far from the border, the story is about how smuggling groups adapt technology and how U.S. units answer with detection and defeat tools. Laser and electronic counter-drone systems give patrols options short of gunfire in crowded airspace. The August tally of about 100 downings marks a busy month for that mission as Task Force-Southern Border keeps counter-UAS gear in the field.