Operation Laser Strike
Operation Laser Strike was a classified US military counter-narcotics operation conducted in Peru under the authority of US Southern Command during 1996–1997. The operation employed ground-based and aerial radar systems to track, identify, and interdict drug trafficking aircraft entering or leaving Peruvian airspace, and involved up to 20 US agencies including the USMC, Drug Enforcement Administration, US Air Force, CIA, National Guard, and US Army Special Forces, alongside local Peruvian forces such as the Peruvian Air Force (FAP).
Operational Scope
Laser Strike conducted three phases of counterdrug operations targeting illegal use of airspace, alternate transportation modes, and drug production capabilities. Three primary locations supported the mission in Peru: Pucallpa, Andoas, and Iquitos — each equipped with radar systems to track aircraft. The operation employed acknowledged data acquisition systems including TPS-43 radar and Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar (ROTHR) systems, and possibly covertly utilized Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites.
In the 12-month period from April 1996 to April 1997, Laser Strike radar tracked 45,000 total aircraft. Of these, 5,390 were "tracks of interest," though only 150 were suspected of drug trafficking. Just 21 planes were forced or shot down, with the exact number of shootdowns classified. US SOUTHCOM authorized up to 14 special forces deployments to the region during 1997, including the US Army 7th Special Forces Group (Green Berets) out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The MARFORLAND Riverine Training Team was stationed at Iquitos for riverine operations.
Preceding Operations
Laser Strike succeeded Operation Green Clover (1996), a similar but smaller-scale US SOUTHCOM operation to combat narcotics transfer in Peru and Colombia. US Army Special Forces historically deployed to the region through operations including Operation Snow Cap, a DEA counter-narcotics mission across nine Latin American countries.
UAP Connection
Operation Laser Strike became significant to UAP research through the testimony of USMC Lance Corporal Jonathan Weygandt, who was deployed to Peru with MAC G28 to perform perimeter security for radar installations. Wagant reported that USAF personnel at his radar installation discussed aircraft flying in and out of the atmosphere at Mach 10-plus speeds — objects that would stop instantaneously and reverse direction. An Air Force colonel confiscated radar log books tracking these anomalous signatures on at least three or four occasions.
Between March and April 1997, Wagant and fellow Marines were sent to secure what was reported as a downed aircraft, where they instead encountered a massive egg-shaped craft embedded in a cliff face. A DOE NEST retrieval team in CH-47 helicopters arrived shortly after, detained the Marines, and conducted a full crash recovery operation. This incident represents one of the most detailed firsthand accounts of a UAP crash retrieval by active-duty US military personnel.