U.S. Tests Infantry Squad Vehicle-Mounted AMP-HEL High-Energy Laser for Southern Border Counter-Drone Operations.

U.S. Army soldiers tested an Infantry Squad Vehicle-mounted 20 kW-class AMP-HEL laser at Fort Bliss, with the September 16, 2026 exercise placing a mobile counter-drone weapon in a training environment tied to southern border operations, according to DVIDS. The assessment examines whether directed energy can move with deployed forces and provide hard-kill protection against small unmanned aircraft without relying on fixed defensive positions.

The AMP-HEL prototype combines AeroVironment’s LOCUST laser with the General Motors Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle to engage Group 1 and Group 2 drones from a light, maneuverable platform. Its Fort Bliss evaluation will help determine how effectively soldiers can reposition, integrate, and employ the laser within a layered counter-UAS network, a key requirement as small drones increasingly challenge force protection.

Related Topic: U.S. Army Awards AeroVironment $464.8M for LOCUST X3 Laser Weapon Systems to Expand Counter-Drone Defense

The U.S. Army tested an ISV-mounted 20 kW-class AMP-HEL laser at Fort Bliss to assess its mobile counter-drone capabilities and integration with systems supporting southern border operations (Picture Source: U.S. Army)

On September 16, 2026, U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Division and Joint Task Force–Southern Border prepared an Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser, or AMP-HEL, mounted on an Infantry Squad Vehicle for assessment during an exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas. Conducted in support of Operation Ardent Vanguard, the activity puts a highly mobile directed-energy counter-drone capability into an operationally relevant training environment linked to missions along the U.S. southern border. The exercise is significant because it allows troops to evaluate not only the laser itself, but also how the system can be integrated with other capabilities supporting border operations.

The system seen at Fort Bliss represents the first increment of the Army’s AMP-HEL prototyping effort. According to manufacturer AeroVironment, the configuration combines its 20 kW-class LOCUST laser weapon system with the General Motors Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle, creating a mobile counter-unmanned aircraft system designed around a comparatively light and maneuverable tactical platform. The U.S. Army has separately described AMP-HEL as a 20 kW-class laser weapon intended to provide a hard-kill capability against Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aircraft systems. Rather than relying on a large fixed installation, the ISV-mounted configuration is intended to place directed energy closer to maneuvering forces and other units requiring mobile protection against small drones.

AeroVironment announced in September 2025 that it had delivered the first two AMP-HEL prototype systems to the U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office. Before reaching soldiers, the prototypes were integrated at the company’s directed-energy manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and underwent government acceptance testing at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. That process evaluated areas including performance, mobility, safety and lethality, after which Army personnel conducted new-equipment training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The appearance of an AMP-HEL-equipped ISV in the hands of JTF-SB soldiers at Fort Bliss represents another stage in moving the technology beyond laboratory and manufacturer testing toward evaluation by troops in realistic operating conditions.

The Infantry Squad Vehicle is central to the AMP-HEL concept. Integrating the laser onto a mobile vehicle offers the Army an opportunity to move a counter-UAS weapon with forces rather than limiting directed-energy protection to static bases or infrastructure. AeroVironment characterizes the combination as a mobile, frontline counter-UAS capability and says soldier feedback collected during the prototype program is being used to refine the system. For operations along the southern border, that mobility may be particularly relevant: military units can be required to support activities across dispersed areas, making the ability to reposition sensors and defensive systems an important element of any broader architecture. The Fort Bliss exercise is consequently as much an integration test as a demonstration of the laser itself, examining how AMP-HEL can function alongside other systems rather than as a standalone weapon.

That integration dimension is especially important in the context of supporting operations along the U.S. southern border. DVIDS states that exercise participants were given the opportunity to assess AMP-HEL’s capabilities and its integration with other systems supporting those operations. U.S. Northern Command is working alongside the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection under narrowly defined authorities, providing military capabilities in support of efforts to protect U.S. territorial integrity. The available official information does not state that AMP-HEL has entered routine operational employment on the border; the Fort Bliss activity is specifically described as an assessment and exercise. Even so, bringing an ISV-mounted high-energy laser into the JTF-SB training environment provides the Army with an opportunity to examine how a mobile directed-energy system could contribute to a layered force-protection and counter-UAS architecture. 

The Fort Bliss exercise underscores how rapidly the U.S. Army is moving directed-energy technology from prototype delivery toward soldier-level assessment. AMP-HEL combines a 20 kW-class laser, a highly mobile ISV platform and a counter-UAS mission in a package designed to accompany forces rather than remain tied to a fixed defensive position. Its evaluation by Joint Task Force–Southern Border does not by itself constitute operational fielding, but it demonstrates that the Army is examining where such systems can fit into real-world missions and how they can connect with existing capabilities. As unmanned aircraft continue to shape military force-protection requirements, the significance of AMP-HEL will ultimately depend not only on the power of its laser, but on whether soldiers can reliably integrate, move and employ the system as part of a broader defensive network.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.