Bangalore: India's Defence electronics specialists have fitted decades-old L-70 gun - the workhorse of the country's Defence forces and whose numbers in the nation is believed to run in several hundreds – with optronics pedestal, all electric drive and computer-based fire control system, making it a new generation gun at a "fraction of a cost".

"We have now upgraded L-70 gun by incorporating integrated modern technologies," V K Koshy, chairman and managing director of public sector Bharat Electronics Limited, where the system was developed, said. L-70 guns are being used by India in the last three to four decades.

Koshy pointed out that L-70 guns are manually controlled and chances of its success (shooting down aircraft) are very limited as it all depended on the skill of the gunner.

"Now, we have introduced computerised fire-control system," he said. "Computer will take inputs from the directions, range requirements and wind sensors, temperature and other parameters and apply corrections. Computer does intelligence computing."

Koshy explained that computer would do instantaneous computation regarding the future position of the target, adding it would calculate how much deflections would take place for the shells in view of wind speed.

He pointed out that the present system leaves it to the judgement and skill of he gunner regarding the target and its future position.

PTI