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UPDATED -- ZenaTech Develops Low-Cost, Single-Use Autonomous Interceptor Drone for ZenaDrone’s Counter-UAS System for US Defense, Middle East, and Ukraine Use
Designed to defeat enemy drones at a fraction of the cost of conventional air defense systems VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
About this update from Zenatech, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Designed to defeat enemy drones at a fraction of the cost of conventional air defense systems\nVANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) (\"ZenaTech\"), a technology solution provider specializing in AI (Artificial Intelligence) drone, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS, and Quantum Computing solutions, announces that its ZenaDrone subsidiary has initiated development of a prototype for a small, one-way interceptor drone designed to stop hostile drones by physically intercepting them in flight. The prototype, called Interceptor P-1, is an autonomous and expendable vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)-design drone that can be added to the company’s counter-UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) defense system offering dramatically lower costs than traditional air munitions. The drone addresses a critical asymmetry in modern warfare. Adversaries routinely deploy low-cost commercial and military drones at scale, while conventional intercept solutions, including surface-to-air missiles and laser systems, carry costs that are orders of magnitude higher than the threats they defeat. The Interceptor P-1 prototype is being purpose-built to reverse this equation. “The drone threat on modern battlefields is accelerating faster than legacy defense budgets can absorb. Our Interceptor P-1 is being developed to give military and security forces an affordable, scalable answer by creating an interceptor and anti-drone system for a new world of asymmetric warfare,” said Shaun Passley, PhD, ZenaTech CEO. “Our strategy is to offer defense customers a full-spectrum of counter-drone solutions based on persistent maritime patrol with the ZenaDrone 2000 and IQ Glider launch station. Our emerging technologies are also forming a comprehensive, layered, counter-UAS ecosystem for land, sea, and littoral environments with the expendable point-intercept capabilities of the Interceptor P-1. This is exactly the kind of integrated, cost-effective capability that modern defense procurement demands.” With versatile launch options planned, including ground, vehicle, and maritime deployment via the company’s IQ Glider, maritime drone platform, the Interceptor P-1 is being built to respond rapidly across multiple environments. By offering scalable interception capabilities, it is designed to ...