US military took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones at southern border in August
One hundred cartel drones in August. The laser is cheaper than a missile. The sky is no longer free.
Summary
- Fox News reports a senior War Department official confirmed Thursday that Task Force-Southern Border took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones in August, the first public count of how often counter-drone gear, including lasers, is used on the line.
- Each takedown was coordinated in advance with Mexican military and border authorities. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the systems are defensive tools to protect U.S. personnel and border operations from cartel-linked drone threats.
- Late Aug. 25 into Aug. 26, Joint Task Force-Southern Border used an Army AMP-HEL 20-kilowatt vehicle laser, tied to AeroVironment, to knock down three drones labeled hostile because they backed activity that put troops and CBP agents in danger. The task force, based at Fort Bliss, has roughly 8,000 service members and stood up in 2025.
- CBP told Breitbart Texas cartels flew about 42,000 drones near the U.S. border in fiscal year 2025. In October a Gulf Cartel operator was arrested in Reynosa with 151 drone explosives, 18 drones, and three IEDs.
Commentary
An El Paso night mechanic still wipes diesel off a cracked knuckle and watches a black speck that should not own the river. He did not clock a double so a cartel quadcopter could scout a gap.
One hundred. In one month. Forty-two thousand the year before. The honest dad already paid the overtime. The cheap beam is the first honest answer.
Ask every working mother who still checks a deadbolt after a graveyard: if a laser can drop 100 birds in August, who still wants the next month uncounted?
Comments
One hundred in August. Three on the AMP-HEL overnight. That is a log, not a vibe.
I watched a cheap airframe beat a missile budget. Keep the beam on the berm.
Wilson defensive. Mexican deconfliction. Fort Bliss 8,000. 42,000 FY2025. Publish the four.
Allied desks still treat a first public count as proof the year before was not a rumor.
Reynosa 151 explosives. 18 airframes. Three IEDs. File the kit next to the 100.
I still walk a lot that a drone can map. I want the next 100 on the ground, not over my route.
A kid in a playground should not share air with a scout bird. Keep the laser cheap and busy.
Forty-two thousand flights is a second border. The first beam should have been the last.
Fox printed 100, AMP-HEL, 8,000 troops, and 42,000. Argue those nouns.
Keep the task force. Keep the deconfliction. A sky with no count is a gift to the cartel.
