Zen Technologies has secured a contract valued at ₹108 crore, inclusive of GST, from the Ministry of Defence for the supply of tank crew gunnery training simulators, reinforcing more than a decade of progress in homegrown defence simulation technology. Chairman and Managing Director Ashok Atluri noted that the order is significant not only as a business achievement but as evidence of the long-term impact of indigenous R&D when supported by forward-looking procurement policies.
He recalled that the company delivered its first tank simulators to the Indian Army over ten years ago at a time when systems were not designed to prioritise Indian intellectual property. The new order, he said, demonstrates how policy reforms have created space for domestic innovation to flourish. Referring to a TERI study that found even modest adoption of simulators can save over ₹1,123 crore annually—a return of 18:1—he emphasized that simulation systems act as powerful force multipliers that reduce costs and accelerate capability building. He added that recent operational lessons have shown how critical rapid procurement can be to national readiness.
This order stems directly from the Ministry of Defence’s Simulation Framework released in September 2021, which elevated simulation-based training as a strategic priority. The current procurement represents only the beginning of a much larger requirement, as achieving the vision of comprehensive simulation-based training across all three services will require significantly expanding simulator installations nationwide. As adoption increases, indigenous companies with established IDDM credentials, such as Zen Technologies, will play a central role in enabling large-scale deployment.
Simulation systems are now an essential component of modern military training, offering safe, repeatable, and highly realistic environments for mastering mission-critical tasks. With advances in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and data-driven modelling, simulators can now replicate real terrain, adversary behavior, and operational stress with precision, allowing personnel to build muscle memory and fine-tune decision-making skills without the risks of live exercises.
Zen Technologies’ tank crew gunnery simulator recreates the turret environment with accurate controls, instrumentation, visual systems, and motion cues that reflect operational conditions. It supports a full range of gunnery drills, stabilization modes, ammunition options, laser range-finding, target engagement procedures, and firing sequences. The system is available as a containerized mobile unit or as a fixed installation and includes instructor interfaces, trainee cabins, and motion platforms that simulate recoil and vehicle dynamics.
Zen Technologies Limited is a leader in defence training and anti-drone solutions, with a long track record of delivering advanced systems that assess and enhance combat readiness. With R&D facilities recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology and a manufacturing base in Hyderabad, the company has filed more than 180 patents and supplied over 1,000 training systems worldwide.
