DHS Warns After 378 Cartel Drones Hit Southern Border, Prompting Wider Counter-Drone Push
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 25
DHS Warns After 378 Cartel Drones Hit Southern Border, Prompting Wider Counter-Drone Push
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 25
Summary
378 cartel drones were detected along the southern border between Aug. 22 and Thursday, prompting DHS to warn that hostile surveillance of U.S. personnel "ends here."
Border Patrol said cartels mainly use the drones for reconnaissance, tracking agents and soldiers so smugglers can move people and drugs between ports of entry.
75 drones were turned back, 15 were engaged and one was captured, while officials said anti-drone measures have worked so far even as cartel tactics evolve rapidly.
Yuma, Arizona, has hosted three weeks of military testing on new counter-drone gear, as DHS, the War Department and private companies expand detection and interception tools.
The buildup extends a broader Trump administration border crackdown in which the military has already been used for drone takedowns coordinated with Mexican authorities.
As cartels deploy agile surveillance drones, can multi-billion-dollar federal defense systems outpace them before urban border cities become electronic battlegrounds?
How will the testing of military-grade lasers and jammers impact civilians when counter-drone operations move from open deserts to dense cities?