Published Sep 2, 2026, 10:21 AM EDT
Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB) used laser technology to target and incinerate three hostile unmanned aircraft systems last week.
In a scene reminiscent of Star Wars, the U.S. military's Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB) carried out a futuristic technological mission last week. U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) used a high-energy laser system pointed to the sky over the U.S.-Mexico border to disable and ultimately down several drones linked to the Mexican drug cartel. Mexican drug cartels are a powerful, highly organized criminal enterprise that control the multi-billion-dollar global drug trade with deep influence across Mexico and other international markets. Besides narcotics, cartels generate massive profits through human smuggling, extortion, illegal mining, fuel theft, and other black-market economies. Former U.S. Air Force combat controller Jacob Poulliot, an expert on laser technology, called the laser mission a victory for the next iteration of military might. "Demonstrating that capability in a real-world operational environment is a pretty good step forward for high-energy lasers and directed energy weapon systems," Poulliot, a defense engineer with the company Power Technology, Inc., told Military.com. "The technology is no longer cradled in a laboratory or part of a carefully managed product test. It's a real-world system delivering real-world results," he added.
