A US Army vehicle equipped with a LOCUST (AMP-HEL) laser seen at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in April 2025. A military unit conducting border patrol recently used a LOCUST to shoot down three unidentified drones. (US Army)

The US Military Just Shot Down Cartel Drones with a Laser—Here’s Why It Matters

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The US military has little hope of staying cost-effective against drone-armed non-state actors while using conventional weapons. Lasers help level the playing field.

The Department of Defense recently confirmed that it had used a high-energy laser to shoot down three drones—presumably in the employ of drug or human traffickers linked to Mexico’s cartels—near the Mexico-United States border.

The news is significant because directed-energy weapons, better known as lasers, have spent decades being discussed as the future of air defense. But the recent shootdown marks an operational application. The use of lasers against drones especially makes sense, as drones are often too cheap and numerous to justify the expense of using sophisticated and costly air defense munitions against them. Lasers, once mature, can help to address the growing cost asymmetry of defending against........

© The National Interest