The counter-drone weapon that caused a shutdown of El Paso's airspace on Wednesday was AeroVironment's LOCUST, a 20-kilowatt laser system, Axios has confirmed.
Why it matters: The Army sees the cutting-edge weapon as a way to combat drones without firing expensive interceptors. But the Federal Aviation Administration was so concerned about its use that it shut down the airspace around a major city for nearly eight hours.
Driving the news: Trump administration officials claimed a "cartel drone incursion" had necessitated a military response, which in turn led the FAA to order the extraordinary 10-day airspace closure. It was lifted hours later.
- Multiple sources told Axios that, in fact, the FAA reacted because a counter-drone weapon had been fired without sufficient coordination.
- In a further twist, a source familiar with the incident told Axios that while the weapon belongs to the military, it was actually fired by Customs and Border Protection.
- There have been conflicting reports about what the laser took down or whether there was truly a drone "incursion."
Zoom in: The weapon in question was the LOCUST laser weapon system, as Reuters was first to report and Axios has confirmed.
- It was developed by BlueHalo, which was acquired by Virginia-based AeroVironment last year. The company declined to comment for this story.
- A LOCUST-equipped Infantry Squad Vehicle was spotted by Laser Wars near the U.S.-Mexico border in August 2025.
The big picture: Militaries have been exploring directed-energy weapons for decades, and the Pentagon invested around $1 billion annually into the tech in recent years, but frontline use has not yet become widespread.
- An Emerging Technologies Institute study published in January 2024 logged more than two dozen directed-energy projects underway across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
- Plans for the forthcoming Trump-class battleships involve far more powerful lasers — anywhere from 300–600kW, versus 20kW for LOCUST.
What to watch: The military is using the border mission as a means to test other tech as well, including networking and comms.
