Air Defense

Bofors 40 mm L/70

Also known as
  • L-70 Bofors
  • Bofors L70
  • Bofors L/70
  • Bofors 40 mm L70
  • Bofors 40/70
  • 40 mm L/70
  • 40L70
  • 40 mm lvakan m/48

The Bofors 40 mm L/70 is a Swedish postwar anti-aircraft autocannon developed by AB Bofors as a higher-velocity, faster-firing successor to the wartime 40 mm L/60 family. Its towed and naval variants remained in service through upgrades, with source-backed modern use including Lithuanian-supplied guns in Ukrainian air defense and Indian upgraded L/70 guns used as a short-range counter-drone layer during the 2025 India-Pakistan Conflict.

Bofors 40 mm L/70, 40 mm towed anti-aircraft autocannon, Air Defense
Image source: Bofors 40 mm L70 Anti Aircraft Gun Commons

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Sweden
Type
40 mm towed anti-aircraft autocannon
Service note
Postwar gun design with Cold War export service and modern counter-drone upgrades
Designer
AB Bofors
Designed
Late 1940s
Produced
1950s onward; licensed and upgraded variants remained in later service
Number built
More than 5,000 reported for the broader L/70 family in open references

Specifications

Caliber
40 mm L/70
Cartridge
40 x 365 mm R
Role
Short-range air defense against aircraft, helicopters, and drones; modern mounts also support surface-target roles
Rate of fire
About 240-300 rounds per minute depending on variant; BAE lists 300 rounds/min for the Bofors 40 Mk4
Maximum range
12,500 m maximum range for the modern Bofors 40 Mk4; reported practical anti-aircraft engagement range is shorter
Muzzle velocity
About 1,000 m/s class; BAE lists 1,012 m/s with 3P ammunition for the Bofors 40 Mk4
Feed
Clip or hopper-fed 40 mm ammunition depending on mount and upgrade
Bofors 40 Mk4 ready ammunition
At least 100 rounds available in the gun
Modern upgrade features
Electric drives, electro-optical sensors, fire-control computers, radar cueing, and programmable or airburst ammunition in selected upgrades
Modern Service Pattern

The L/70's current relevance comes from attaching a postwar 40 mm automatic gun to newer detection, cueing, and fire-control chains rather than treating the original carriage as a complete modern air-defense system.

Ukraine

Lithuanian-supplied L70 guns added a gun-based short-range air-defense option for drone defense, with later Ukrainian reporting identifying National Guard use against Shahed drones.

India

Indian upgraded L/70 guns were described with electric drives, electro-optical sensors, network cueing, and counter-drone integration during Operation Sindoor.

Modern family

BAE's Bofors 40 Mk4 keeps the 40 mm L/70 caliber in a naval mount with programmable ammunition and remote-control features.

Variants

The L/70 designation covers the longer-barrel 40 mm Bofors family rather than one fixed national configuration; later users combined the gun with radars, electro-optical sights, electric drives, or new mounts.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
Towed Bofors 40 mm L/70Baseline field anti-aircraft gun

The classic field carriage version used the 40 x 365 mm R ammunition family and remained recognizable as a manually served, towed short-range air-defense gun.

Sources: L70 Swedish 40mm Towed Anti-Aircraft Autocannon

Indian upgraded L/70Modernized counter-drone configuration

Indian modernization reporting describes electric drives, electro-optical sensors, fire-control computers, and later drone-detection or counter-drone integration for upgraded L/70 guns.

Sources: How upgraded L/70 guns became India's frontline defence

Bofors 40 Mk4Modern naval L/70 family gun

BAE's Mk4 datasheet lists a 40 mm L/70 caliber gun with 300 rounds per minute, 12,500 m maximum range, and programmable 3P ammunition compatibility.

Sources: Bofors 40 Mk4 Datasheet

Ammunition Fired

Published Bofors and BAE material places modern 40 mm ammunition within the L/70 and L/70-derived gun family rather than treating it as separate stand-alone equipment.

AmmunitionAmmunition typeFiring evidence
Bofors 40 mm 3P ammunition, 40 mm pre-fragmented programmable proximity-fuzed round, MunitionsBofors 40 mm 3P ammunitionProgrammable 40 mm round

BAE says 40 mm anti-aircraft guns can employ Bofors 40 mm 3P ammunition against aerial threats, and Bofors material lists 3P inside the 40 mm ammunition family for L/70-class systems.

Sources: BAE Systems secures programmable ammunition orders from Sweden and Finland, Bofors 3P and System Concept

40 mm APFSDS-T round, 40 mm APFSDS-T round, Munitions40 mm APFSDS-T round40 mm armour-piercing tracer round

Bofors Defence AB describes APFSDS-T as part of the 40 mm ammunition family and states that improved APFSDS-T performance was demonstrated using the L/70 gun system.

Sources: Bofors 3P and System Concept

40 mm Multi-purpose Tracer round, 40 mm L/70 multi-purpose tracer round, Munitions40 mm Multi-purpose Tracer round40 mm multi-purpose tracer round

Army Guide lists MPT among the ammunition fired by the Bofors 40/70Ba, a CV90 gun based on the ordnance of the 40 mm L/70 towed anti-aircraft gun.

Sources: Army Guide 40/70Ba

Timeline

Bofors 40 mm L/70 Key Events

  1. Bofors develops the L/70 family

    Open reference and later defense reporting place L/70 development in the late 1940s as a postwar 40 mm successor to the earlier L/60 family.

    Sources: L70 Swedish 40mm Towed Anti-Aircraft Autocannon, How upgraded L/70 guns became India's frontline defence

  2. Lithuania acquires L70 guns from Sweden

    LRT reported that Lithuania had acquired its L70 short-range anti-aircraft guns from Sweden in 2000 before later transferring them to Ukraine.

    Sources: Lithuania to send anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine

  3. Lithuania announces L70 guns for Ukraine

    Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced that Bofors L70 anti-aircraft guns and ammunition would be handed over to Ukraine.

    Sources: Lithuania to send anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine

  4. Indian upgraded L/70 guns appear in Operation Sindoor reporting

    ThePrint reported that upgraded Indian 40 mm L/70 guns formed part of the short-range air-defense response to Pakistani drone attacks during the May 2025 crisis.

    Sources: How upgraded L/70 guns became India's frontline defence

  5. Ukrainian National Guard Bofors L70 use reported

    Defense Express reported that the 5th Separate Slobozhansk Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard used Lithuanian-supplied Swedish-made Bofors L70 guns against Shahed drones.

    Sources: Bofors L70 guns shoot down Shahed drones in Ukraine

Media

Bofors 40 mm L/70 Videos

Bofors 40 mm L/70 Images

Bofors 40 mm L/70, 40 mm towed anti-aircraft autocannon, Air Defense - view 1
Source: Indian Army Upgraded Bofors L70 Gun Commons
Bofors 40 mm L/70, 40 mm towed anti-aircraft autocannon, Air Defense - view 2
Source: Bofors 40 L70 Hatzerim Commons
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Sources

L70 Swedish 40mm Towed Anti-Aircraft AutocannonPublisher: OE Data Integration Network, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command | Note: Supports baseline L70 identity, towed anti-aircraft role, Swedish design lineage, ammunition family, and general technical context. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Lithuania to send anti-aircraft guns to UkrainePublisher: LRT / BNS | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct transfer context: Lithuania announced that Bofors L70 anti-aircraft guns and ammunition would reach Ukraine, and identifies Lithuania's earlier Swedish acquisition. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Bofors L70 guns shoot down Shahed drones in UkrainePublisher: Defense Express | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct-use context: Ukrainian National Guard personnel were reported using Swedish-made Bofors L70 guns provided by Lithuania against Shahed drones. | Accessed: 2026-07-06How upgraded L/70 guns became India's frontline defencePublisher: ThePrint | Note: Supports 2025 India-Pakistan Conflict direct-use context: Indian upgraded 40 mm L/70 guns were reported as a short-range counter-drone layer during Operation Sindoor, and supports Indian upgrade and performance context. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Bofors 40 Mk4 DatasheetPublisher: BAE Systems | Note: Supports manufacturer and modern L/70 family technical context, including 40 mm L/70 caliber, 300-round-per-minute fire rate, 12,500 m maximum range, 1,012 m/s 3P muzzle velocity, 100-plus ready rounds, and programmable ammunition. | Accessed: 2026-07-06BAE Systems secures programmable ammunition orders from Sweden and FinlandPublisher: BAE Systems | Note: Supports relationship context for Bofors 40 mm 3P ammunition, including Swedish 40 mm anti-aircraft gun use against aerial threats and broader Bofors 40 mm gun applications. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Bofors 3P and System ConceptPublisher: Bofors Defence AB | Note: Supports 40 mm ammunition-family relationship context for L/70-class systems, including 3P and APFSDS-T members and APFSDS-T performance demonstrated with the L/70 gun system. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Army Guide 40/70BaPublisher: Army Guide | Note: Supports relationship context for the Bofors 40/70Ba gun, including its L/70 ordnance basis and listed ammunition types such as MPT, 3P, APFSDS-T, PFHE Mk 2, HE-T, and TP-T. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Bofors 40 mm L70 Anti Aircraft Gun CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for the primary Bofors 40 mm L/70 photograph at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre; Commons lists the file under CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Indian Army Upgraded Bofors L70 Gun CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for an Indian Army upgraded Bofors L70 gun photograph used in the gallery. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Bofors 40 L70 Hatzerim CommonsPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance for an additional preserved Bofors 40 mm L70 gun gallery image at Hatzerim airbase museum. | Accessed: 2026-07-06