“The grounding of aircraft at El Paso International Airport early Wednesday morning was in response to the U.S. military testing technology that can be used to take down drones, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
The testing was taking place in the proximity of the airport, raising concerns within the Federal Aviation Administration, which responded by issuing a Temporary Flight Restriction Notice, the sources said.
Three of the sources said the military testing, which was taking place near Fort Bliss, was of high-energy lasers that are designed to protect against drones from drug cartels that could cross over the U.S. border.”
Anti-drone lasers can help take down drones for much cheaper than missiles, but have limitations, including: needing line of sight, not working as well in certain weather conditions, possibly having trouble with drones made of laser resistance materials, and having trouble targeting maneuvering drones in the real world.
Mexican cartels are using drones to drop bombs on rival cartels and police, and to intimidate civilians. Criminal organizations in many countries are using drones and have gotten good at using them in advanced ways.
Drones work with artillery because artillery helps disperse units which facilitates drones getting their kills. One reason Ukraine is so focusing on drones is because Ukraine has better capacity to make drones than artillery.