Organizers of the failed drone show in Budva: Drones were jammed by devices used by the military and police

(Patria) - The drones were intentionally and systematically downed by anti-drone jammers, so-called jammers, announced Mirnovec pirotehnika, the company hired for the New Year's Eve drone show program in Budva.

In a statement provided to Vijesti, they state that they are a company with a serious reputation, which has been in this business for 35 years, and that they unfortunately experienced something that has never happened to them anywhere in the world.

They apologized to everyone who came to watch the show. They announced that they will organize a show soon together with the organizers, emphasizing that it will be better and more spectacular than the one that was planned.

"Already upon entering Montenegro, it was possible to sense that we were not welcome. The truck with the drones appeared at the border crossing on Sunday evening (December 28th). As always and everywhere, we had an ATA Carnet for the drones (Montenegro is a signatory to the convention on the use of ATA Carnets). We also had permission to use the airspace in Budva on December 31st, issued by the Civil Aviation Agency of Montenegro," the company stated.

They added that they were told that if they wanted to enter Montenegro, they also had to obtain permission from the Ministry of Economy, which they did the following day.

"When we arrived at the border that evening with the mentioned permit, we were told that even that was not enough, but that we had to wait for the approval of the head of the customs post for temporary import. We waited again, and on Tuesday, December 30th, in the morning, we started preparing the documentation for temporary import. After we finished that, we were directed to the internal customs in Kotor. When we arrived in Kotor around noon, we were told that we still had to go to the customs post in Bar. At that moment, it was impossible, because we no longer had time to reach Bar during the working hours of the customs service," said the company's representative Frano Koletić.

He emphasized that the customs officers eventually agreed to process the documentation for temporary import, and that they entered Montenegro that day, in the early evening hours, after two and a half days of waiting at the border crossing.

"On Wednesday, December 31st, we set up the drones at the agreed location (parking lot in front of the marina). During the day, we experienced minor provocations and unpleasantness from some employees of the Port Authority, but we did not pay attention to it. The drones were set up and ready for takeoff before dark. All necessary tests and checks were carried out during the day and immediately before takeoff. Everything was in accordance with the plan," the company stated.

They explained that when the drones, during a slow, selective ascent, exceeded the height of the building (about 15 meters) behind which the takeoff area was located, they entered the frequency jamming zone using a "jammer" (a system for jamming drone signals) and began to fall.

"Immediately after this unfortunate event, we contacted the drone manufacturer, the American company VERGE AERO, for which we are authorized representatives for Europe and the Middle East. Their engineers connected to the computer on site, analyzed all the errors related to this show, and determined that the drones, due to signal jamming, began to return to the takeoff point (they were programmed to do so), colliding with drones that were still in the process of taking off," the company stated.

They added that over 200 drones fell and were damaged due to this disruption, after which the show was interrupted.

"Their conclusion is that the jamming was carried out with professional jamming devices, which are usually possessed by police and military units, airports, and special state services. Such equipment is difficult for individuals to obtain, as it is considered a weapon," they emphasized in the statement and added:

"We do not know who did this or for what reason, nor are we interested. We are solely focused on our business and in this case, we are collateral damage, having suffered serious material damage."

They emphasized that they regret the large number of visitors who came to see the first drone show in this region and who, unfortunately, were disappointed.

Finally, they explained that they are a company that has been performing fireworks and special effects for 35 years, and that they have completed thousands of projects worldwide (Germany, Italy, Spain, Malta, Russia, China, South Korea, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Canada, USA, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, etc.). The company also provided a list of drone show projects they have completed so far.

"We are one of the first companies in Europe to start performing drone show programs. So far, we have completed over 100 projects across Europe and Qatar, where we also have a company (974 Drone Show) that exclusively performs drone show programs. This year, we were hired by the Tourist Organization of the Municipality of Budva for the New Year's show with 600 drones," the statement from Mirnovec pirotehnika reads.