Joint Task Force – Southern Border used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) overnight on 25–26 August 2026 to defeat three hostile UAS in the Rio Grande Valley, marking a publicly confirmed operational use of directed-energy counter-UAS capability at the border. The system, built around AeroVironment's 20 kW-class LOCUST laser weapon, was delivered to the Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office in prototype form in late 2025.
Motorola Solutions has completed the $1.5 billion purchase of D-Fend Solutions, bringing the company's RF cyber-takeover counter-drone platform under its public safety umbrella. The deal lands as newly enacted US regulation is unlocking a broad domestic market for non-kinetic C-UAS technology at state and local level.
Federal agencies detected nearly 1,600 unauthorised drone incursions across all 11 U.S. FIFA World Cup host cities, seizing more than 700 aircraft by mid-July — the largest C-UAS enforcement action in American history. The operation road-tested a layered technology stack of Cyber-over-RF takeover systems and kinetic net-interceptors, while new legislation simultaneously expanded drone-mitigation authority to state and local law enforcement for the first time.