Mexico and the United States demonstrated close cooperation and command and control capability during a September 2026 joint exercise involving unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS tactics along the California-Mexico border. Àguila Alta, or “High Eagle” in English, unfolded over several weeks in the San Diego and Tijuana regions. “The purpose of this operation is to achieve a more secure border by detecting and disabling commercially available drones used by criminals along the shared border to monitor authorities during human and drug trafficking,” read a September 9 statement from the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (DEFENSA).
In recent years, transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) have adopted UAS technology to identify smuggling routes, track Mexican and U.S. military and law enforcement and carry out attacks against rivals and Mexican security forces. Mexico and the U.S. have worked closely to disrupt, destroy and dismantle these criminal networks’ ability to use UAS along the 3,145-kilometer border. Earlier in September, DEFENSA Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo announced that Mexican security forces deployed 165 anti-drone teams along the border, according to La Jornada, a Mexican newspaper. Meanwhile, Fox News reported that the U.S. shot down nearly 100 UAS in August alone.
Àguila Alta unfolded in two phases. The first, which ended September 2, involved coordination exercises and mirrored ground reconnaissance on both sides of the border. The second phase, which ended September 21, deployed fixed and mobile c-UAS personnel and equipment, according to DEFENSA.
U.S. officials praised the operation’s effectiveness. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson posted on X that Mexico and the U.S. achieve greater success when working jointly. “As criminal organizations adapt, we stay one step ahead. Operation High Eagle brings the United States and Mexico together to detect and disable drones used by criminals to support drug and human trafficking along our shared border. Through technology, innovation, and coordinated operations — each country acting within its own territory — we are confronting evolving threats and making our communities safer,” Johnson posted on September 7.
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), which coordinated the exercise with DEFENSA through its Joint Task Force-Southern Border, also praised the mission’s success.
“USNORTHCOM applauds the efforts of our Interagency and Mexican partners in adapting to and defeating cartel drone operations that enable drug smuggling and human trafficking. Together we are strengthening the security of our shared border,” read a September 7 USNORTHCOM post on X.
In late August, USNORTHCOM reported that three TCO drones had been disabled by a high-energy laser weapon along the border. Since the beginning of 2026, U.S. forces have destroyed more than 300 drones along the border, the Pentagon said.