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US military uses lasers to down cartel drones at border

Officials report 11 drones downed with new laser technology, while other reports cite up to 100 in August.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

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Camera IconUS officials say they have used lasers to down suspicious drones near the Mexico border. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

What this story says

  • US military officials confirmed 11 cartel drones were downed using laser technology deployed along the US-Mexico border.
  • The drones were assessed by US Northern Command to be associated with illicit activity.
  • Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that unilateral US actions on Mexican soil would breach sovereignty.
  • Reports differ on the total number of drones downed in August, with some citing up to 100.

Who covered it

Left 26%(9)Centre 25%(9)Right 49%(17)

Percentages are shares of the 35 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 29 of the 64 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

57/100

Hype

41/100

64 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 9 of the 35 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

US military officials have stated that 11 cartel drones have been downed using laser technology since its deployment along the US-Mexico border last week. US Northern Command assessed these unmanned aerial systems as being associated with illicit activity. The technology used is the Army Multipurpose High-Energy Laser system. In total, more than 300 drones have been downed since the start of 2026 using various systems, with over 100 taken down in August.

Disagreement on drone numbers

While US military officials stated that 11 drones were downed using lasers since the technology's deployment last week, other reports cite a higher number for the month of August. Fox News reported that the US military downed approximately 100 suspected cartel drones at the southern border in August. An unidentified Pentagon source also stated that US armed forces shot down approximately 100 drones in August, allegedly in coordination with the Mexican army.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated reports mention the figure of 11 cartel drones being downed using lasers since the technology's deployment last week, which was stated by US military officials and reported by centre and right-rated outlets. None of the right-rated reports mention Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum's statement that unilateral US actions on Mexican soil would be a grave breach of her country's sovereignty.

Coverage settled. We checked this 26 times and stopped on 10 Sept 2026, 03:30. The figures above are what it finished at.

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.

Miembros de la Patrulla Fronteriza inspeccionan la frontera sur de Estados Unidos. Cárteles han utilizado drones para vigilar las acciones en suelo estadounidense. Foto: CBP
El UniversalLeft
Crédito: Especial
El DiarioCentre

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

9 rated outlets

  • The left‑rated outlets all reported that the United States military used laser technology to bring down drones linked to Mexican drug cartels along the southern border. Numbers cited range from more than one hundred to over three hundred drones, with several sources noting roughly one hundred interceptions occurred in August.
  • El Universal’s full article quoted Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson and described coordination with the Mexican army and border authorities, naming the AMP‑HEL high‑energy laser system. Digests from tpr.org, SDPnoticias.com, Punch Newspapers, Politiken, Vanguard News, The Canberra Times and SANA cited statements from US Northern Command, identified the Rio Grande Valley as the operational area and linked the drones to smuggling and surveillance activities.
  • None of the digests provided a cost estimate for the laser system, and they omitted any commentary from Mexican officials except the El Universal piece. No outlet included discussion of the legal basis for the strikes or broader policy implications, leaving those aspects unreported on the left side.

Centre

9 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports highlighted the US military's deployment of laser technology to down cartel drones. PerthNow, Reuters, WTVB, and The Straits Times all reported that 11 cartel drones were downed using lasers since the technology was deployed along the US-Mexican border last week, citing US officials. El Diario reported that the US military downed approximately 100 narcodrones at the border, according to Fox News, and quoted Pentagon press spokesman Kingsley Wilson stating these actions were coordinated with Mexican military and border authorities. The New York Ledger also reported the figure of approximately 100 suspected cartel drones downed in August, citing a senior War Department official confirming to Fox News.

Right

17 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports focused on the number of drones downed and the technology used. The West Australian, The Dallas Express News, and The Straits Times reported that 11 cartel drones were downed using lasers. The Dallas Express News specified that the Army Multipurpose High-Energy Laser, known as AMP-HEL, entered border operations on August 24. Breitbart reported that a War Department official said the military shot down about 100 suspected cartel drones at the southern border in August, as reported by Fox News. Democratic Accent, wfmd.com, Fox News, and Reforma also reported that the US military took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones at the southern border in August, with Fox News citing a Pentagon official.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover US military uses lasers to down cartel drones at border?
Of the 35 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 26% are rated left, 25% are rated centre, 49% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 64. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is US military uses lasers to down cartel drones at border left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 35 rated outlets on this story, 26% are rated left, 25% are rated centre, 49% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of US military uses lasers to down cartel drones at border biased?
US military uses lasers to down cartel drones at border is one event reported by 64 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 military uses lasers to down cartel drones at 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 military uses lasers to down cartel drones at border?
64 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.
How many cartel drones did the US military down with lasers?
US military officials stated that 11 cartel drones were downed using lasers since the technology was deployed along the US-Mexican border last week. These drones were assessed to be associated with illicit activity.
What is the total number of drones downed in August?
Reports vary on the total number of drones downed in August. While US military officials confirmed 11 were downed using lasers recently, other reports citing Fox News suggest approximately 100 suspected cartel drones were downed in August.
Was the use of laser technology coordinated with Mexico?
US Northern Command and the Pentagon stated that the use of laser systems to down drones was coordinated with the Mexican army and border authorities. El Universal reported that these operations were coordinated with Mexican counterparts.
What is Mexico's stance on US actions at the border?
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that any unilateral US action on Mexican soil would be a grave breach of her country's sovereignty. This statement was reported by PerthNow.

Read it at the source

64 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

9
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Centre

9
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Right

17
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Not rated

29
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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.

US Military Downs Cartel Drones | MediaBias News