U.S. Army tests AMP-HEL high-energy laser for counter-drone operations at the southern border

Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and Joint Task Force–Southern Border tested the Army's Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) mounted on a General Motors Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle at Fort Bliss, Texas, on September 16, 2026, under Operation Ardent Vanguard.¹ The system pairs AeroVironment's LOCUST laser, described as a "20 kW-class" directed-energy weapon, with the vehicle platform to create what AeroVironment calls a "mobile, frontline counter-UAS capability" aimed at knocking down Group 1 and Group 2 drones with "hard-kill capability."¹ AeroVironment delivered the first two AMP-HEL prototypes to the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office in September 2025; they were integrated at AeroVironment's Albuquerque facility, then underwent government acceptance testing at Yuma Proving Ground assessing "performance, mobility, safety and lethality" before soldiers trained on the system at Fort Sill and deployed it to Fort Bliss.¹ The article frames the event strictly as an assessment exercise tied to U.S. Northern Command's coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection under limited border-support authorities, and does not confirm operational fielding on the border itself.¹

Why it matters: a vehicle-mounted, soldier-portable laser reaching field trials at the border is a concrete step toward directed-energy counter-drone weapons that don't rely on interceptor munitions or nets, at a time when cartel-linked drone incursions have made counter-UAS a recurring border-security topic.