Drone activity at US-Mexico border dropped 75% after US started using laser weapon system: Report

Less than two weeks after the US military first used a laser weapon system to down suspicious drones, there has been a roughly 75% decrease in the number of drones probing the country's southern border with Mexico, CBS News reported Monday, citing US officials.

The system was first used to take down three drones on Aug. 25 and 26 after months of training, including an episode that caused the Federal Aviation Administration to briefly shut down the airport earlier this year in the border city of El Paso, Texas.

The US military already uses jamming to send some drones back to where they came from, but the laser weapon system offers the option to destroy a suspected threat.

Since the beginning of the year, the military has stopped 300 drones that officials say are linked to drug cartels, including 11 that the laser weapon system took down over 10 days.

"When you just send it back and then it comes back up or is defeated temporarily, but the game changer is ensuring that that tool can't be used again against you," said Army Col. Robert Felicio, commander of the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.

Officials said cartels use drones to survey US service members and law enforcement, helping them identify areas to avoid when smuggling people or drugs.

Army Lt. Col. Ray Richards said disrupting drones has a financial impact on cartels.

"When you think of 75% reduction of that capability and how that spreads based on X amount of dollars are tied to that — I think when you talk about disruption to the cartels, that is a huge part of that story," Richards said.

Cartels also use armed drones in Mexico to attack rival groups. The report said that military officials are weighing the threat to roughly 8,000 US service members and law enforcement personnel along the border.