India Awards $32.5M to Zen Technologies for Advanced Anti-Drone Upgrades

India has awarded 2.89 billion rupees ($32.5 million) in contracts to Zen Technologies to upgrade its anti-drone systems.

The company will complete the upgrades within a year, integrating lessons learned from recent frontline operations like Operation Sindoor, a May counterterrorism offensive by India in Jammu and Kashmir.

The contracts aim to enhance both hardware and software adaptability, a capability that foreign systems often cannot offer due to export controls and vendor limitations.

The upgrades target two critical vulnerabilities: physical hardware compromise and software-level malware attacks, the kind seen in the Stuxnet operation that crippled Iran’s nuclear program, and in the 2024 pager attacks that killed and wounded hundreds of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

Zen Managing Director and Chairman Ashok Atluri said that the company is committed to keep India one step ahead in the face of rising threats.

“Buying Indian-designed, developed and manufactured products is not an option, it’s a requirement for survival as drone and cyber threats keep evolving,” he said.

Other Anti-Drone Systems Development in India

India has been actively deploying a range of indigenous counter-drone solutions to protect against emerging challenges.

India’s Defence Research and Development Service (DRDO), in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited, has developed the D4 system, which integrates radar, RF sensors, electro-optical/infrared cameras, jammers, and laser-based directed energy weapons. 

It offers both mobile and static configurations and is designed for rapid induction across the armed forces.

Adani Defence & Aerospace and DRDO unveiled a vehicle-mounted counter-drone system in February 2025 that combines radar, SIGINT/EO sensors, jammers, a 7.62-mm gun, and a high-energy laser. Designed for mobility, it can protect critical areas at ranges up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in varied terrains.

Private companies like Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited are developing systems such as the Bhargavastra micro-missile anti-drone system, aimed at intercepting loitering munitions and autonomous drone swarms.

These systems demonstrate India’s growing capability to address sophisticated drone threats beyond commercial unmanned aerial vehicles.