Department 13 International Limited (ASX:D13) advises of several inquiries coinciding with the recently reported assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, using multiple drones armed with explosives.

Prior to the alleged attack D13 has and continues to conduct conversations with several South American government customers, including parties located in Venezuela, through its South American distributor Phoneix Group.

The below images of the attack have been circulated by several state media organizations. The drone appears to be a DJI Matrice 600 Pro. MESMER™ is effective in identifying and mitigating all DJI drones.

This represents a high-profile attack after being televised live, endangering hundreds of government personnel and civilians. However, this is by no means the first terrorist attack attempted using commercial drones armed with explosives or weapons, nor is it the first attack on a political leader using a drone. D13 is aware of multiple other incursions of a similar nature.

This attack highlights the difficulty and importance of identifying threats early and the need for mitigation technologies capabl e of safely mitigating a swarm of threatening drones and con trolling the outcome of that threat.

Drones armed with explosives or chemical weapons are particularly problematic as they are unable to be controlled with jamming technologies. Should a drone armed with explosives be forced to fall from the sky by a jamming technology the outcome is likely to be as catastrophic, if not worse.

Using protocol manipulation D13’s MESMER™ has the ability to identify and control swarms of drones, commanding the drone to fly and land in a safe zone, within a ~4km radius. Had MESMER™ been protecting the ar ea that was attacked in Carcas , Venezuela, it would have lik ely been able to mitigate the swarm of drones before they became a threat.

D13 are now experiencing a substantial increase in inquiries within the region and abroad. This incident is a morbid reminder to defence agencies, private corporations and civilians of t he threat drones now pose and the need for swift investment in appropriate countermeasures to protect against this danger.