U.S. Army trains with AMP-HEL laser on Texas border

U.S. Army soldiers on the southern border are training on the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser, a vehicle-mounted 20-kilowatt laser that has already shot down cartel-linked drones, according to photos released by the Department of War.

Troops from the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, operated the system on an Infantry Squad Vehicle during a training exercise near Fort Hancock, Texas, on Nov. 2.

The soldiers are assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border under Operation Ardent Vanguard. The military said the AMP-HEL, built to destroy small drones, is now in use for counter-drone operations on the border. It did not say how many laser-armed vehicles the task force has or how often they are in action.

The AMP-HEL is based on AeroVironment’s LOCUST laser weapon. Mounted on the light, air-droppable Infantry Squad Vehicle, it lets a small team spot a drone and burn it out of the sky without firing a missile or a bullet. The U.S. Army began receiving the system last year, when it took delivery of its first laser-armed squad vehicles, and later received more mobile laser weapon systems.

The laser’s first combat use on the border came in late August. U.S. Northern Command said the military used AMP-HEL to down three cartel-linked drones over two days along the U.S.-Mexico border, Stars and Stripes reported, and The Defence Blog published footage of the laser weapon defeating drones at the border. By Sept. 4, Northern Command had put the tally at 11 drones, and on Sept. 24 a high-energy laser downed two more cartel drones, Breaking Defense reported.

“Cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human-smuggling,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of Joint Task Force-Southern Border, in August.

Using a laser near busy airspace required approval from aviation regulators. The military and the Federal Aviation Administration finished a safety assessment of laser use along the border in April, after an unannounced airspace closure around El Paso International Airport in February caused confusion among local, state and federal officials. Following the review, the FAA said the systems do not increase risk to the flying public.

In a 30-day period ending in late September, Joint Task Force-Southern Border logged 378 drone detections, 75 turnbacks, 15 takedowns and one captured drone, Breaking Defense reported. Officials said most were commercial quadcopters used for reconnaissance in support of human smuggling. The laser has also been tested by senior Army leaders, including the service’s top official in New Mexico.

U.S. Northern Command says it works alongside the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection within “narrowly defined authorities” on the border.