Serbian media have published articles yesterday and today (November 2-3) claiming that one of the unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) that flew near Serbian army barracks, located at several points near the border with Kosovo, has been neutralized.
This claim by the Serbian media is based on the statement of the Serbian Ministry of Defense and the minister of this institution - Miloš Vučević.
The claims about the downing of a "commercial" drone, as they call it, were made by the Serbian Ministry of Defense, without providing any photos or videos proving this act.
Links to articles published in Serbian media:
https://informer.rs/vesti/politika/746640/vojska-srbije-dron-obaranje
Excerpts from articles published in Serbian media:
In the afternoon, units of the Serbian Army, after timely detection and monitoring, neutralized a commercial drone that was moving from the direction of Kopaonik to Raška. The drone was shot down using electronic jamming measures, near military facilities in the Raška garrison, the Ministry of Defense announced.
The Serbian Armed Forces shot down a drone over the barracks in Raška at around 17:20, Informer exclusively learns. The observation and reconnaissance of the barracks was previously monitored, so the army, in accordance with the order of the Supreme Commander, acted and shot down the drone.
The claim of neutralizing one of the unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) was made by the Serbian Ministry of Defense, through a press release in which it informed about the case without providing supporting details, which could be images in the format of photographs or video footage of the act committed.
Parts of the press release from the Serbian Ministry of Defense:
In accordance with the order of the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian Armed Forces are taking increased measures to detect, track and neutralize unmanned aerial vehicles near military facilities.
Units of the Serbian Armed Forces neutralized a commercial drone that was moving from the direction of Kopaonik to Raška this afternoon after timely detection and monitoring. The drone was shot down by applying electronic jamming measures, near military facilities in the Raška garrison.system. (here)
Following the statement from the Serbian Ministry of Defense regarding the claim of downing the drone, the head of this ministry, Miloš Vučević, also made a statement, adding that they have not been able to verify the type, owner and manufacturer of the drone, despite the fact that it was presented in the media as a "commercial drone".
Part of the statement by the Minister of Defense Miloš Vučević:
"The drone was moving from the Jarinje-Rudnica direction towards the municipality of Raška and was observed over the military facilities of the Raška garrison. The investigation before us will determine the exact type of drone, the unmanned aerial vehicle that was shot down, and everything we conclude and establish as relevant facts will show us where the data leads us and who the driver, owner and manufacturer of the drone may be.". (here)
Serbian media articles with this claim do not contain any supporting facts, except for statements by the Ministry of Defense and Minister Vučević.
Furthermore, the Ministry and its minister, in their claims, do not present images of the neutralized drone, which would serve as evidence of their presence.
Despite this, the Ministry, in its statement, identifies the unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) that was allegedly neutralized by the Serbian military as a "commercial drone," while the Minister of this Ministry, Vučević, says that investigations are continuing to determine the type and owner of the drone.
Drones can fly in Serbian airspace only with a special permit issued by the Directorate of Civil Aviation, with the consent of the Ministry of Defense, according to the Regulation on Unmanned Aircraft. (here)
When issuing a permit, it is determined whether the flight of a foreign drone may threaten the safety of air traffic, people or objects on the ground, as well as the characteristics of the area where the flight is planned, the category of the aircraft, technical capabilities. The provisions of the regulation apply to drones owned by foreign or domestic citizens in Serbia. Anyone who obtains the necessary permit from the Directorate of Civil Aviation has the right to use drones.
According to the regulations of the Directorate of Civil Aviation, the use of unmanned aircraft is prohibited within 500 meters of the National Assembly, government and presidential buildings, republican, provincial and local self-government bodies, military facilities, courts, public prosecutors' offices and foreign diplomatic missions.
Drone flights belong to general air traffic (GAT), which is carried out according to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). (here)
Since the Ministry of Defense identified the drone as “commercial” under the Serbian state air traffic law, a commercial flight is defined as “any aircraft flight for monetary or other compensation, which is available to the public or which, if not available to the public, is carried out on the basis of a contract between the aircraft operator and the service user, where the service user has no control over the aircraft operator.” (here)
However, this Serbian regulatory authority does not appear to have made any statement clarifying whether or not such a vehicle had an operating permit, as well as providing details about the type of drone.
Senior Serbian political officials from Belgrade made several claims about the presence of drones near Serbian military posts, around the border with Kosovo, which were published as such by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). (here)
The claim was denied by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kosovo. (here)
Recently, KFOR also made a statement regarding the existence of drones flying over military barracks, emphasizing that they have no evidence for the claims made in the Serbian media:
"At the moment we have no proof of what the media is reporting. We will update you if we have any information." (here)
Analyze:
Serbian media have published articles claiming that one of the unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) that flew near Serbian army barracks, located at several points near the border with Kosovo, has been neutralized.
The claims of the Serbian media are based on a statement from the Serbian Ministry of Defense and a statement by the ministry's minister, Miloš Vučević. In addition to not presenting any facts proving the downing of the drone, the ministry and its minister give different versions about the identity of the drone. While the ministry identifies the drone as "commercial", its minister says that they are continuing to identify the type and owner of the drone.
Despite this, KFOR has stated that at the moment there is no evidence for what is being discussed in the media regarding drones.
Hibrid.info, based on its work methodology, assesses that these claims are classified as "unverified content".
Reasoning:
The “Unverified” rating is given to those media reports that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which have not been able to confirm the same due to the lack or non-possession of reliable sources.