Drone detection technology on display during the “Falcon Peak” exercise in Yuma, Arizona, in September 2026. The US Army has recently taken an active role in border enforcement operations, assisting the Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies. (Department of Defense/MC1 Elton C. Wheeler)

‘Falcon Peak’: Inside the US Army’s War on Cartel Drones

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Transnational criminal organizations based in Mexico have used drones to smuggle drugs across the border, and to keep tabs on border enforcement operations. The US military is fighting back.

The US Army is testing advanced counter-drone technology along the US-Mexico border as criminal organizations increasingly use unmanned aircraft for surveillance and smuggling operations. During the recent “Falcon Peak” exercise at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in September, military personnel evaluated several technologies designed to detect, track, and destroy drones.

The armed forces have conducted Falcon Peak and similar exercises with unusual alacrity in recent years due to the heavy rates of drone incursions into the United States. In early October, military officials told Reuters that they had detected 378 drone incursions over a 30-day period from late August to late September—a development that amounts to a national security threat as well as a........

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