Swarm attack stopper: India's AI-powered anti-drone system with radar, jammers & hard-kill guns

As low-cost drones, swarm UAVs and first-person-view attackdrones increasingly reshape modern warfare from Ukraine to West Asia, India is accelerating efforts to build indigenous counter-drone systems capable ofdetecting, jamming and physically destroying hostile aerial threats.Zen Technologies unveils AI-powered anti drone systemAt the North Tech Symposium 2026 in Prayagraj, Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies unveiled a new integrated Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS) designed to tackle evolving drone warfare threats through AI-enabledtracking, layered jamming and kinetic interception capabilities. The system is being projected as a major step under India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat push, particularly as security agenciesface increasing concerns over drone-based surveillance, border infiltration, smuggling operations and swarm attacks targeting military infrastructure.Why anti-drone systems are becoming critical for IndiaThe growing use of inexpensive drones in conflicts worldwide has exposed vulnerabilities in traditional air-defence systems. Small unmannedaerial vehicles can carry out reconnaissance missions, artillery correction, kamikaze strikes and coordinated swarm attacks while flying below the radar envelope of conventional systems.For India, the threat has become particularly significant along sensitive border regions, where drones have increasingly been used for cross-border smuggling of narcotics, weapons and ammunition.Military planners are also preparing for future battlefields where autonomous drones and AI-enabled unmanned systems could play a central role in surveillance and combat operations.Against this backdrop, layered anti-drone systems capable of identifying, tracking and neutralising multiple aerial threats simultaneously are becoming a strategic necessity.How anti-drone system worksThe newly unveiled platform combines both “soft kill” and “hard kill” capabilities in a multi-layered architecture designed to counter different types of unmanned threats.The modular system can reportedly operate in vehicle-mounted, man-portable and fixed-site configurations depending on mission requirements.According to the company, the system offers wideband coverage from 70 MHz to 12 GHz, enabling it to detect and disrupt multiple drone communication channels.Its architecture includes:Built under India’s indigenous defence pushThe company said the system was developed under the Indigenous Design, Development and Manufacturing (IDDM) framework, allowing India to retain fullintellectual property ownership while reducing dependence on importedcounter-drone technologies.Company chairman and managing director Ashok Atluri said recent battlefielddevelopments had shown how rapidly drone warfare was transforming military operations.He said countries unable to adapt to the changing nature of warfare would remain vulnerable to emerging unmanned threats.