The Royal Thai Army (RTA) posted the first images of its upgraded Bofors (now BAE Systems) 40mm L/70 anti-aircraft gun (AA) on its social media accounts on October 21, showing the The new optoelectronic system and integration work was provided by local firm Armisys Supply Company.
The enhanced anti-aircraft artillery, designated L70 OES (Type A Modification), was operated by personnel from the RTA’s 2nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, who underwent a company-supported training exercise from 18 to 20 October. The accompanying literature indicates that the troops were able to control the weapon either manually or via remote control.
The 40mm L/70 anti-aircraft gun has been in service with the RTA since the 1950s and has been upgraded several times in the following years. The latest update, valued at 446.5 million baht ($13.9 million), was awarded to Armisys in February 2020 under an exclusive contract.
The towed L/70 anti-aircraft gun is linked to the Thales Flycatcher dual-frequency fire directional radar.
Other local improvements to the weapon were highlighted earlier by the RTA at the latest Defence and Security Exhibition in Bangkok in late August, which focused on local efforts to update the weapon with new servo motor systems and modern digital controllers, while Not the original hydraulic motor for improved lateral and lift performance. Thanks to this work, reliability and maintainability are also improved.
Early work on upgrades to the ancient weapon included the LVS Fire Control System (LVS FCS) supplied by Saab Dynamics (now Saab) in the late 1990s, designed to improve first-shot hit rates. Developed as a private company, the LVS FCS measures 3D target trajectories independently of the artillery movement, calculates the target digitally and controls the artillery orientation automatically.
The standard system has a day sight with a laser rangefinder and an optional image intensifier or thermal imager for night engagements.
by Jr Ng
