In the US, a top-secret laser shot down holiday balloons instead of trespassing drones.

American border guards mistakenly used a secret weapon Pentagon. In the US, a top-secret laser shot down holiday balloons instead drones- violators.

The Wall Street Journal reports this, citing three sources.

They reported that Customs and Border Protection officers deployed a classified laser system against unknown aerial objects. Border agents guarding the American border from threats from the south assumed they were dealing with drones one of the Mexican drug cartels, but most likely they were just festive balloons.

The weapon used to shoot down the balloons is believed to be an experimental design. Until recently, it was used only abroad because it could pose a hazard to civilian air traffic.

The publication explains:

Experts in aviation They note that high-power lasers can temporarily blind or distract pilots, causing eye damage and potential loss of control of the aircraft, especially during takeoff and landing.

The US Department of Defense believes that the developed system could become one of the best means of combating drones worldwide.

Border guards attacked hot air balloons in Texas this Wednesday. That same day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily suspended all aircraft landings and departures at El Paso Airport in Texas.

Comments

[HAM]

This is what the "life-giving" Chinese balloon did... although, the Yankees clearly drew the appropriate conclusions from the recent failure with the Chinese probe... reconnaissance or meteorological, it doesn't matter...

[knn54]

But the balls could contain a flammable mixture or explosives.

[Same lech]

Excellent... drug cartel intelligence has identified the positions and capabilities of border guard laser installations... goods can be sent around.

[Reindeer]

Hmm, but they shot it down... So it works, the details are interesting - but of course you need to look for them somewhere else.

[501 Legion]

Super duper, duper - as Trump says

[Pavel57]

It punches the balls, it's good.

[faterdom]

It was Maduro who inflated the balloons. Even before he was kidnapped.

[snow mountain]

It's old man Hottabych who has arrived!

[voyaka uh]

They shot it down. They didn't miss.
Training in "conditions close to combat".
Lasers are the future of small air defense.

[Hitriy Zhuk]

Quote: voyaka uh

Lasers are the future of small air defense.

Well, that's not a fact.
We're flying above the clouds, into fog, rain, snow, or something else—and then the question arises (even if the guidance works): will there be enough power?

[Foggy Dew]

At least this time we didn't have to send an F-22 from Alaska to shoot down the balloon on the third try))) Because F-35s don't fly that high))) Warriors)))

[tralflot1832]

Quote: The same LYOKHA

Excellent... drug cartel intelligence has identified the positions and capabilities of border guard laser installations... goods can be sent around.

There is another tried and tested option, let them choke on their laser.

[wladimirjankov]

Where are our lasers? Which Peresvets? Why have enemy UAVs already reached our north, 2000 km from the LBS? What's next, when will they reach Severomorsk and Murmansk with their Northern Fleet bases?

[Hitriy Zhuk]

And if you cover the ball with foil/reflective paint, how much will you have to increase the laser power?

[OSE4Kinsura]

Yesterday, a secret unidentified object was shot down by a bubbler in the Novosibirsk region! The translucator worked as expected! The Pipilac is ready for use in dense fog!