The U.S. Army has deployed radars along the U.S.-Mexico border to track drones used by cartels.

The War Zone reported on this.

Units of the US 10th Mountain Division, which were sent to Arizona to strengthen border security at the beginning of the year, have been monitoring the AN/TPQ-53 and AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radars.

“The division’s artillery unit is enhancing its drone detection skills on the southern border,” the description of the images released by the US Department of Defense reads. “The U.S. Northern Command is working with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen U.S. customs and border protection along the southern border.”

Traditionally, these radars are used to detect air targets and artillery shells, which is used in counter-battery warfare by artillerymen. Due to their technical capabilities, they are perfectly suited to detect low-flying small drones.

In recent years, the problem of Mexican cartel drones intruding into US airspace has been gaining momentum. The fight against this has intensified since the new administration of President Donald Trump came into office.

“I don’t know the actual number – I don’t think anyone does – but it’s in the thousands,” U.S. Air Force General Gregory Guillot, head of NORTHCOM and the U.S.-Canadian Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), told members of Congress when asked about drone crossings at a hearing last year.

The cartels use drones not only to smuggle drugs, but also to monitor U.S. patrols at the border and in battles with rival groups.

This month, Militarnyi reported on the use of explosives by the Mexican cartel El Tena on a vehicle carrying people from the CJNG cartel in western Mexico.

The drone operator dropped the explosive device from a height of more than a hundred meters, hitting the car directly, indicating a serious level of training.

The Border report, which tracks events on the U.S.-Mexico border, notes that cartels use drones on a daily basis to track the movements of U.S. Border Patrol agents near the border wall.

The practice first came to light last September when Mexican authorities, acting on a tip from U.S. officials, arrested two drone operators near the border wall in Juarez, Mexico.

“We see drones every day. Thecartels are using drones to determine where authorities are and how they can control entrances,” Walter N. Slosar, the newly appointed interim chief agent in charge of the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector, reported.

Last month, Mexican cartels used an explosive drone against Mexican National Guard troops in southern Chihuahua. It is also reported that cartels have used drones to bomb rivals in Michoacán and Guerrero.