finance
Task force tests counter-drone system at Arizona border site
JIATF-401 evaluated the SkyValor counter-UAS system at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. The test used threat scenarios drawn from southern border operations. Officials said the system offers non-kinetic options to disrupt drones.
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A joint interagency task force tested an autonomous counter-drone system near the U.S.-Mexico border this week. JIATF-401 and partner agencies assessed the SkyValor system at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona. The evaluation focused on non-kinetic methods that can disable drones through electronic warfare without firing projectiles.
Test details "During our visit to Yuma, we evaluated the SkyValor system against rigorous threat scenarios based on feedback from warfighters and border agents at the southern border," Jose Gonzalez, a Customs and Border Protection liaison officer embedded with JIATF-401, said.
The system can be combined with kinetic options to give operators more response choices. Officials noted that drones are increasingly used in drug trafficking along the southern border.
The task force has drawn lessons from drone use in Ukraine to speed adoption of new counter-drone tools across federal agencies. Hostile drones killed six U.S. service members in Kuwait in March and three soldiers in Jordan in 2024. An investigation into the Jordan incident found the military was insufficiently prepared for the threat.
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