During a major outdoor celebration in Tianjin, a large-scale drone formation was scheduled to perform a synchronized light show above a packed waterfront venue. The event relied on precise GNSS positioning for every drone in the swarm. With dozens of wireless systems, broadcast trucks, and portable RF devices operating nearby, the risk of satellite signal disruption was high. To keep the performance on schedule, the technical team integrated the BNT2511 16-element anti-jamming antenna into the drone positioning architecture.
The RF Challenge at a Large Tianjin Event
The performance site was surrounded by temporary communication towers, media uplinks, and public Wi-Fi hotspots. Pre-show spectrum scans detected narrowband and broadband interference across the GNSS bands, including GPS L1, Galileo E1, and BeiDou B1. The drone formation required continuous position fixes for tight spacing and coordinated movement. Even a brief loss of lock could cause a collision or force the team to abort the performance.
Standard GNSS receivers on the drones were not designed to handle this level of interference. The event organizers needed a solution that could reject multiple jammers while maintaining clean position, velocity, and timing data.
Why the 16-Element Anti-Jamming Antenna Was Chosen
The BNT2511 provided a practical answer. Its 16-element array forms spatial nulls toward interference sources, suppressing narrowband, broadband, pulse, swept, and Gaussian jammers. In controlled tests, the 16-element anti-jamming antenna achieves a jamming-to-signal ratio of 100 dB for one jammer, 85 dB for seven jammers, and 70 dB for fifteen jammers. Those figures matter in a busy event environment where interference can come from multiple directions at once.
The BNT2511 also includes a built-in u-blox ZED-F9P receiver, so no separate positioning module was needed. The unit outputs NMEA 0183 and UBX protocols directly, and an SMA RF port provides a −70 to −60 dBm signal for any external GNSS receiver. This simplified integration into the drone control stack and reduced cable clutter.
Deployment and Performance During the Show
The technical crew installed the BNT2511 on the drones and ground control stations before the final dress rehearsal. The array was secured with standard mounting hardware, and power was supplied through the XT30 connector at 28 V DC. TTL serial lines were connected to the flight controller, with TX to RX and RX to TX. Firmware for both the anti-jamming processor and the receiver was updated through the TTL serial port to ensure the latest interference mitigation algorithms were active.
During the event, the drones flew through areas with strong RF activity. The BNT2511 held position accuracy to ≤10 meters at 95% even with jamming active, and ≤1.5 meters under clean-signal conditions. Velocity accuracy stayed within 0.2 m/s, and timing accuracy remained at ≤100 ns. The formation completed the full choreography without a single GNSS dropout.
Results: Uninterrupted Drone Formations
The BNT2511 16-element anti-jamming antenna allowed the drone show to proceed exactly as planned. The spatial nulling rejected interference from nearby broadcast equipment and unknown sources, while the multi-constellation support for GPS L1, Galileo E1, and BeiDou B1 provided redundancy. If one band was hit by a jammer, the receiver continued tracking the others.
The event team reported that previous rehearsals with standard GNSS antennas had experienced intermittent lock losses, but the final performance with the BNT2511 was clean. The integrated receiver eliminated the need for external positioning modules, reducing weight and wiring on the drones.
Key Takeaways for Drone Show Operators
For any large outdoor event, GNSS interference is a real threat. A 16-element anti-jamming antenna like the BNT2511 offers a level of protection that single-null or basic filtering designs cannot match. The ability to suppress up to fifteen jammers while maintaining position, velocity, and timing makes it suitable for drone shows, mobile timing, and land-vehicle defense.
The BNT2511 operates from −40°C to +55°C, withstands 96% humidity, and meets GJB150A rain requirements, so it can handle the variable conditions of an outdoor Tianjin event. With overvoltage protection, reverse-polarity protection, and continuous wave tolerance of at least 10 W, the unit is built for field use.
For event organizers and drone operators who cannot afford a GNSS failure, the BNT2511 provides a robust, self-contained solution in a 230 x 230 x 24 mm package weighing under 1250 g. No external anti-jamming processor is required—just DC power and a TTL-capable controller or SMA-equipped GNSS receiver.
This case study reflects a representative deployment during a large public event in Tianjin. Actual performance may vary depending on interference conditions and installation.