A US military laser weapon is taking out cartel-linked drones at the southern border. It defeated 3 this week.

The US southern border has become a sandbox for personnel testing counter-drone systems.

US Army photo by Sgt.

Griffin Payne American troops used a laser weapon to destroy three cartel-linked drones near the southern border.

Directed-energy weapons like lasers have been touted as cost-effective drone defenses.

The southern border has become a sandbox for US forces testing counter-drone capabilities.

US forces stationed at the southern border used a laser weapon to shoot down three cartel-linked drones this week, the military said Thursday.

Drug cartels have been increasingly using uncrewed aerial systems to support operations.

US troops at the border have responded with a range of counter-drone weapons , including directed-energy systems like lasers, to shoot down or disable the threats.

This week, Joint Task Force - Southern Border "successfully defended US military personnel and CBP [Customs and Border Protection] by mitigating three adversarial unmanned aircraft systems using directed energy capabilities this week," the US Northern Command task force said in a release.

The engagements started late Tuesday and continued into Wednesday.

Task force personnel used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system to shoot down the drones.

The UAVs were determined to be hostile because of "their use in direct support of activities posing a physical threat to US military personnel and CBP partners," the task force said.

The Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser is a mobile counter-drone system mounted on a vehicle.

Built by AeroVironment, prototypes were first delivered to the US Army last fall as part of the service's broader push for more kinetic and non-kinetic ways to defeat drones and other aerial threats.