L-70, ZU-23mm, Schilka and S-400—India's multi-layered strategy to counter Pakistani drones
India and Pakistan are exchanging drone and missile attacks following Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror incident. Border areas are seeing shelling from Pakistan, with India retaliating and using its air defence systems, including L-70 guns, Zu-23mm, Schilka, and S-400, to intercept drones and airstrikes effectively.
The L-70 40mm gun has been significantly enhanced with radar, electro-optical sensors, including auto-tracking systems. It is manufactured in India and was developed by Sweden's Bofors. The gun, capable of firing 240–330 rounds per minute with a range of up to 4 km, now serves as a key front-line defence against radar-evading drone swarms.
In anti-drone warfare, it floods the sky with predictive fire, making it highly effective against swarm attacks and radar-evading drones.
Electro-Optical Fire Control System: Improves target acquisition and tracking accuracy.
Integrated Radar: Comprises advanced systems like a new X-band radar for autonomous drone detection and tracking.
Auto-Tracking: Enables automatic target acquisition and tracking in all weather conditions.
Video Tracking: Permits visual confirmation of targets, enhancing firing accuracy.
Notably, India has inducted more than 1,000 L70 guns, making it the most popularly used air defense gun in the armed forces.
The Zu-23 is capable of offering a high volume of fire and is frequently used to shield static installations against low-flying threats. It is a Soviet-designed, towed anti-aircraft gun featuring twin 23mm autocannons. It has an effective range of up to 2.5 km for air targets and about 2 km for ground targets.
The Russian-made Schilka, a tracked anti-aircraft system equipped with four 23mm cannons, has been upgraded to effectively counter modern threats. Originally featuring radar with a 20 km detection range, it incorporates advanced fire-control systems and proximity-fuse ammunition. With a firing rate of 4,000 rounds per minute, the modernised Schilka offers precise targetting and devastating effectiveness against drones, helicopters, and even lightly armoured ground vehicles.
S-400 is among the most cutting-edge long-range surface-to-air missile systems across the globe. India signed an agreement with Russia in 2018 to buy five S-400 units worth $5.43 billion as part of the deal and named it 'Sudarshan Chakra', an Indian name to S-400 Triumf air defence missile system.
This term is from Mahabharata which shows precision, speed and lethal capability. It was deployed in Punjab in 2021 to strengthen the defences against Pakistan and China threats. It has a range of up to 400 km and detect threat within 600 km.
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