ZenaTech Advances ZenaDrone 2000 Heavy-Lift Interceptor Toward Flight Testing for Counter-UAS and Maritime Defense
*Gasoline-powered platform designed for more than four hours of hover endurance advances through prototype assembly, adding a long-endurance, heavy-payload capability to ZenaTech's counter-UAS portfolio alongside the Interceptor P-1*
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 06, 2026 -- ZenaTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZENA) (FSE: 49Q) (BMV: ZENA) ("ZenaTech" or the "Company"), a technology solution provider specializing in AI-powered drones, Drone as a Service (DaaS), enterprise SaaS and Quantum Computing solutions, provides an update on the ZenaDrone 2000, its heavy-lift autonomous interceptor designed to counter hostile drones and coordinated swarm attacks over land and sea. ZenaDrone is building the first full prototype and part of an integrated defense system, at its facility in Sharjah, UAE, and now expects to begin flight testing in the first quarter of 2027.
Recent build milestones include:
* Airframe and folding arm structure completed
* Gasoline propulsion system and 36-inch propellers bench-tested
* Flight controller and autonomy software in ground testing
Once assembly is complete, the first flight test phase will validate takeoff, hover and landing at full and partial payload, endurance toward the 4+ hour hover rating, the 360-degree detection system, and autonomous navigation. Later phases are expected to add autonomous threat pursuit, multi-target engagement, swarm coordination with the Interceptor P-1, and maritime launch and recovery from ZenaDrone's IQ Glider marine launch and refueling station.
|**Specification**|**ZenaDrone 2000**|
|:-|:-|
|Max takeoff weight|200 kg|
|Payload capacity|40 kg|
|Hover endurance|4+ hours|
|Propulsion|Gasoline, 4 × 36-inch propellers|
|Sensors|Cameras providing 360-degree coverage|
|Footprint (folded / deployed)|224.8 × 82.0 cm / 180.4 × 365.8 cm|
The ZenaDrone 2000 is designed to fill a gap between small, single-use interceptors and costly missile-based air defense. Its long endurance capability allows it to stay airborne over a base, port, vessel or border crossing for hours, while its 40 kg payload supports heavier sensors and counter-drone effectors. Paired with the low-cost Interceptor P-1, which recently began its own flight testing, it is designed to give defense customers a layered system: the ZenaDrone 2000 watches and coordinates, and P-1 interceptors engage.
"The ZenaDrone 2000 is the largest and most capable aircraft we have built, and we are taking the time to get the prototype right before it flies," said Shaun Passley, Ph.D., CEO of ZenaTech. "Militaries, navies and border agencies need counter-drone systems that can stay on station for hours and respond to many threats at once, at a cost they can field at scale. With the Interceptor P-1 already inflight testing and the ZenaDrone 2000 moving through its build, we are assembling a complete, affordable counter-UAS layer for the U.S., our allies and partners in the Middle East for a counter-UAS market that industry analysts indicate could exceed USD $20 billion by 2030."
Recent conflicts across the Middle East and beyond have exposed a glaring imbalance in modern air defense economics. Gulf nations and their allies have been forced to deploy interceptor missiles costing hundreds of thousands — or even millions — of dollars to destroy drones from hostile nations that could be valued at $20,000. This unsustainable cost asymmetry is being exploited by adversaries who can field swarms of low-cost, slow-moving aerial threats faster than conventional defense systems can economically respond. The global defense community has recognized that the most practical, scalable, and affordable answer to the drone threat is not another expensive missile — it is a better, smarter, faster drone.
ZenaTech expects to announce further updates on the ZenaDrone 2000 as milestones are achieved and as the prototype build is complete.
[https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/zenatech-advances-zenadrone-2000-heavy-121500803.html](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/zenatech-advances-zenadrone-2000-heavy-121500803.html)
