US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border
Military reports 378 drone incursions in 30 days and has downed 11 cartel drones with lasers since August.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border
Photograph: Army Times (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The U.S. Army is testing counter-drone technology at the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Military officials detected 378 drone incursions in the 30 days prior to the exercise.
- Since August, the U.S. military has used lasers to down 11 cartel drones.
- The exercise aims to replicate rapid battlefield innovation seen in Ukraine.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 9 of the 19 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
19 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
The U.S. Army is testing counter-drone technology along the U.S.-Mexico border to counter increasing incursions by unmanned aircraft. The exercise, named Falcon Peak and held in Arizona in September, involved demonstrations of radars, interceptor drones, and autonomous gun systems. Military planners are seeking to adapt lessons from the rapid innovation in drone warfare observed in Ukraine.
Brigadier General Brian Filler, deputy commander for operations at Joint Task Force Southern Border, stated that the military detected 378 drone incursions in the 30 days preceding the exercise, noting that this activity was increasing. These drones are typically commercially available systems used by criminals for surveillance related to smuggling and human trafficking. The U.S. military reported in early October that it had downed 11 cartel drones using lasers since deploying that technology along the border in August.
Disagreement on drone sophistication
Army officials cautioned that cartel-operated drones are not comparable to the sophisticated battlefield systems seen in Ukraine or the Middle East, according to Army Times and IBTimes. However, dossierpolitico.com cited U.S. Army sources claiming the aircraft are usually publicly available systems. The headline from dossierpolitico.com stated that cartel drones on the U.S.-Mexico border are not compared to those used in Ukraine.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports printed below mention the specific cost of the counter-drone technology being tested or the overall budget allocated for these exercises. Additionally, no reports mention the names of the defense firms whose technologies were demonstrated, beyond Anduril, Teledyne FLIR, Allen Control Systems, and Powerus, which were named in the full reports from Army Times and IBTimes.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 6 Oct 2026, 05:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports led on the U.S. Army's testing of counter-drone technology at the U.S.-Mexico border. These reports highlighted the detection of 378 drone incursions in the previous 30 days and the downing of 11 cartel drones with lasers since August. They also noted the military's aim to replicate rapid battlefield innovation seen in Ukraine. Army Times and IBTimes, which provided full reports, detailed the specific technologies demonstrated, including Anduril's Ghost drone and Allen Control Systems' 'Bullfrog' automated gun.
Right
4 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on the U.S. Army testing advanced counter-drone technology at the southern border due to a surge in cartel drone incursions. OAN's headline stated that cartel drone incursions were surging, while Globo's headline highlighted the threat of cartels. Both reports mentioned the U.S. Army's testing of anti-drone technology to strengthen defenses against increasing use by cartels and to reproduce rapid innovation seen in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 60% are rated centre, 40% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 19. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border biased?
- US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border is one event reported by 19 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US Army tests laser tech against cartel drones at Mexico border?
- 19 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the U.S. Army testing at the Mexico border?
- The U.S. Army is testing counter-drone technology at the U.S.-Mexico border. This includes systems designed to detect, track, and disable small unmanned aircraft, such as lasers, radars, interceptor drones, and autonomous gun systems.
- How many drone incursions has the military detected?
- Brigadier General Brian Filler stated that the military detected 378 drone incursions in the 30 days prior to the September exercise. This activity was reported as increasing.
- Has the military used lasers against cartel drones?
- Yes, the U.S. military has used lasers to down cartel drones. Since deploying the technology in August, military forces have shot down 11 such drones along the southern border.
- What lessons is the military learning from Ukraine?
- Military planners are seeking to replicate the rapid innovation and adaptation cycle seen in Ukraine's war, where drones have significantly transformed battlefield dynamics. This includes quickly developing and modifying systems in response to evolving threats.
Read it at the source
19 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
6- US Army tests counter-drone tech at Mexican border as cartel drone use rises (opens Army Times in a new tab)
Army Times — is Army Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US Army tests counter-drone tech at Mexican border as cartel drone use rises (opens Defense News in a new tab)
Defense News — is Defense News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US Army tests counter-drone tech at Mexican border as cartel drone use rises (opens Military Times in a new tab)
Military Times — is Military Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- U.S. Army Is Tests Counter-Drone Weapons at Mexican Border: Almost 400 Incursions Were Detected in 30 Days. (opens IBTimes in a new tab)
- Arizona-Mexico border used as drone test site (opens Tucson in a new tab)
- US Army tests counter-drone tech at Mexican border as cartel drone use rises (opens Reuters in a new tab)
Right
4- U.S. Army tests advanced counter-drone tech at Southern Border as cartel drone incursions surge (opens OAN in a new tab)
- USA Test Anti-Drone Technology at the Border with Mexico Amidst the Threat of Cartels (opens Globo in a new tab)
- The U.S. Has Tested Cartel Drone Control Systems on the Border with Mexico. (opens vz.ru in a new tab)
- US Army tests counter-drone tech at Mexican border as cartel drone use rises (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
9- U.S. Tests Anti-Dron Technology Against Cartels on the Border with Mexico (opens CNN Brasil in a new tab)
CNN Brasil — is CNN Brasil biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The US Military Is Testing Anti-Drone Technology to Counter the Threat of Drug Traffickers. (opens 大纪元 Epoch Times in a new tab)
大纪元 Epoch Times — is 大纪元 Epoch Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- U.S. Army Tests Anti-Drone Technology with Border Focus on Mexico · Global Voices (opens 88.9 Noticias in a new tab)
88.9 Noticias — is 88.9 Noticias biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Cartel Drones on the U.S.-Mexico Border Are Not Compared to Those Used in Ukraine (opens dossierpolitico.com in a new tab)
dossierpolitico.com — is dossierpolitico.com biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- U.S. Turns Mexico Border Into a Test Field for Drone Technology (opens Estado Red in a new tab)
Estado Red — is Estado Red biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Army Tests Counter-Drone Tech at Arizona Border Range (opens Hoodline in a new tab)
- The US Is Full, They Are Deploying Cutting-Edge Technology at the Border (opens Liner.hu in a new tab)
- US Tests New Generation of Drone Defense: Aircraft Used by Mexican Cartels Target (opens nin.rs in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
