US Northern Command's Joint Task Force Southern Border (JTF-SB) used a high-energy laser weapon to shoot down drones near the Texas-Mexico border overnight on 25-26 August, marking a new escalation in the deployment of directed-energy technology against unmanned aircraft. The operation, which took place in the vicinity of the Rio Grande Valley, used technology derived from the Army's High-Energy Multipurpose Laser (AMP-HEL) programme, and JTF-SB commander Curtis Taylor suggested the drones may have been linked to cartel networks conducting surveillance or facilitating human smuggling.

The weapon involved, known as the Locust Laser Weapon System, was developed by defence firm AeroVironment and delivered to US forces in prototype form in September 2025, with upgraded versions following in December. Operating at 20 kilowatts, it uses sensors and cameras to track a target before focusing and intensifying a light beam to disable or destroy it through heat. Neither the exact location of the strike nor the origin of the drones has been officially confirmed, but the action fits within the Trump administration's wider deployment of advanced technology to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking along the southern border.