India's Zen Technologies secures licence for air-defence cannons

Zen Technologies is developing a micro-missile launcher to integrate with its Zen anti-drone system (ZADS). The launcher is designed to fire 40 mm munitions. (Zen Technologies)

Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies has secured a licence to support its manufacturing of air-defence systems.

Zen announced on 17 April that under India's Arms Act the government has authorised the company to produce 12.7 mm, 23 mm, 30 mm, and 40 mm cannons for use in aerial, naval, and counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) roles.

According to Zen, the newly licenced cannons are designed as rapid-fire, last-layer defence solutions against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), loitering munitions, and low-flying aerial threats.

Chairman and managing director of Zen Technologies Ashok Atluri told Janes on 20 April that the munitions would be manufactured at the company's production facilities in Hyderabad.

Zen aims to retain and manufacture core IP (intellectual property)-driven components in-house, while outsourcing non-core manufacturing to a qualified network of external vendors, Atluri said. This “hybrid approach” delivers scalability, maintains cost-effectiveness, and accelerates production ramp-up while safeguarding critical technologies, he added.

“To scale efficiently, Zen will leverage its established defence manufacturing base, electronics and sensor integration capabilities, precision engineering network, and qualified supplier ecosystem,” he said.

According to the company, the cannons offer “responsive, accurate, and cost-effective” protection for armoured formations, border areas, and critical infrastructure when integrated with fire-control systems (FCSs), radar, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, and programmable ammunition.

“By seamlessly integrating existing weapon systems with intelligent battlefield electronics, we can transform conventional cannons into highly adaptive, precision-driven counter-threat platforms,” Atluri said.

Through the fusion of FCSs, radar cueing, EO/IR sensors, AI-enabled tracking, and programmable ammunition, these platforms can rapidly detect, classify, track, and neutralise UAVs, swarms, and loitering munitions with speed and accuracy, Atluri said.