Following the alleged sonic attack on protest participants who were observing a moment of silence in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 15, 2025, the organization Earshot conducted a comprehensive analysis of audio recordings from 19 video clips, carried out 15 in-depth interviews with witnesses who were positioned along Kralja Milana Street, and processed more than 3,000 written statements from those present. The findings of this investigation conclude that it is highly likely that citizens were exposed to an attack using a directed acoustic weapon.
This conclusion refutes the claims made in reports by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation and Serbian authorities, which stated that the commotion was caused by the use of pyrotechnic or incendiary devices, as well as other claims suggesting that the crowd’s reaction was merely a response to sounds produced by the mass of people itself.
The report shows that all witnesses were clearly able to recall the unknown sound of the attack, describe it, and distinguish it from other surrounding noises such as engines, fireworks, whistles, drones, and running. Moreover, in the 3,244 reviewed written statements and 15 interviews, the attack was consistently described as something “they had never heard before” and could not compare to any known source of sound. Earshot concluded that the sound was unfamiliar to the witnesses, both in its acoustic nature and in the physical sensation that accompanied it. Many stated that they felt it “inside themselves” or that it “passed through them,” while an additional 2,335 statements explicitly referred to a combined physical and auditory sensation. The significant consistency across the numerous testimonies collected and analyzed by Earshot leads, with high probability, to the conclusion that those gathered were exposed to an attack using a highly directed acoustic weapon.
All respondents, all 15, consistently identified the same three sounds from a library of more than 26 audio samples. A further 1,907 written statements describe sounds that match those same three. As confirmation of this extraordinary level of agreement, Earshot reconstructed the approximate sound of the weapon used and published it on its website and social media platforms.
The report concludes with an examination of the possibility that a Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) was used, with particular focus on the 450XL model, which is known to be in the possession of the Serbian police and was present at the scene that evening. While the FSB report claims that “movement of the crowd is not possible with the short-term use of a special device,” Earshot’s findings clearly indicate the opposite when compared with the technical capabilities of the LRAD 450XL as described in its user manual. Earshot also offers an explanation as to why the sound of this device does not clearly appear on video recordings: the absence of sound may actually indicate, rather than refute, the use of an LRAD, given the unique, patented way in which it emits sound from its speaker array.
This conclusion refutes the claims made in reports by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation and Serbian authorities, which stated that the commotion was caused by the use of pyrotechnic or incendiary devices, as well as other claims suggesting that the crowd’s reaction was merely a response to sounds produced by the mass of people itself.
The report shows that all witnesses were clearly able to recall the unknown sound of the attack, describe it, and distinguish it from other surrounding noises such as engines, fireworks, whistles, drones, and running. Moreover, in the 3,244 reviewed written statements and 15 interviews, the attack was consistently described as something “they had never heard before” and could not compare to any known source of sound. Earshot concluded that the sound was unfamiliar to the witnesses, both in its acoustic nature and in the physical sensation that accompanied it. Many stated that they felt it “inside themselves” or that it “passed through them,” while an additional 2,335 statements explicitly referred to a combined physical and auditory sensation. The significant consistency across the numerous testimonies collected and analyzed by Earshot leads, with high probability, to the conclusion that those gathered were exposed to an attack using a highly directed acoustic weapon.
All respondents, all 15, consistently identified the same three sounds from a library of more than 26 audio samples. A further 1,907 written statements describe sounds that match those same three. As confirmation of this extraordinary level of agreement, Earshot reconstructed the approximate sound of the weapon used and published it on its website and social media platforms.
The report concludes with an examination of the possibility that a Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) was used, with particular focus on the 450XL model, which is known to be in the possession of the Serbian police and was present at the scene that evening. While the FSB report claims that “movement of the crowd is not possible with the short-term use of a special device,” Earshot’s findings clearly indicate the opposite when compared with the technical capabilities of the LRAD 450XL as described in its user manual. Earshot also offers an explanation as to why the sound of this device does not clearly appear on video recordings: the absence of sound may actually indicate, rather than refute, the use of an LRAD, given the unique, patented way in which it emits sound from its speaker array.
