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Does the standard laser cannon from the YT-1300 have the ability to be remotely controlled from the cockpit?
I know that the AG-2G quad laser cannons were wired to support pilot control. But, did the stock freighter come with the proper wiring or were they installed with the weapon system upgrade?
The original YT-1300 light freighter design did not come with remote access capabilities for the weapon systems. Indeed, the very first designs were very lightly armed with basic laser cannons. The capability for modifying the weapon systems for remote control is at least possible since Han Solo retrofits the Falcon during the war while he worked with the Rebel Alliance.
The Millennium Falcon was retrofitted (as nearly all YT-1300 are) with a variety of customizations allowing for remote control of both turrets and the missile launchers added to the Falcon after Han Solo went to work with the Rebellion. Han adds a multitude of refits to his YT-1300 including:
In addition to the hidden laser cannon, the Falcon was equipped with a pair of dorsal and ventrally mounted Corellian Engineering Corporation AG-2G quad laser cannons, which drew their power directly from her Quadex power core. They were originally installed by Lando to replace the mandible mounted blasters. When Han took over ownership of the Falcon, he modified the cannons extensively by adding enhanced powercyclers, high-volume gas feeds, and custom laser actuators.
This increased the cannons' output to the point where they were able to destroy a TIE Fighter with a single shot. These cannons, though typically manually operated, could be remotely accessed and controlled from the cockpit by Solo. He once found himself in need of this capability during the Blockade of Kashyyyk in 0 ABY.
The ship also had a pair of Arakyd ST2 concussion missile launchers mounted between the forward mandibles, which were technically illegal for a civilian to possess; these were used in the Battle of Endor, destroying the Reactor Core of the second Death Star. Wookieepedia > Millennium Falcon
In the Legends novels we see that he standard laser cannons (e.g. the ones that come with the ship, ostensibly for defence against asteroids and pirates) can be fired from the cockpit.
A pair of smaller weapons on the upper hull was controllable from the cockpit. Lando started keyboarding until he had established fire control through a pair of auxiliary pedals beneath the console. Then, turning sharply - and feeling for the first time the stresses of acceleration as it piled his blood up in odd parts of his body - he trod on the pedals, blasting away at three of the enemy as they passed.
Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon (set before ANH)
Later Han "rigs" his new quad cannons to fire from the cockpit. This is clearly not a normal feature of the ship, either the cannons or the fire control mechanism.
Two quad laser cannon turrets were located at the top and bottom of the Falcon. The quad laser cannons were more powerful than the Ground Buzzer. Although the laser cannons were more accurate when fired from the turrets, Han had rigged them to a control stick inside the cockpit.
Adventures in Hyperspace: Fire Ring Race (set before ANH)
and
“Who’s up there firing the blaster cannons?” Han asked.
“Luke,” Leia said, and Han looked down the hallway, confused. You could fire the blasters from the cockpit, but only with greatly reduced accuracy. Yet Luke had nearly taken Gethzerion’s head off, with Han less than a meter away, while piloting this hunk of junk at full attack speed.
The Courtship of Princess Leia (set 4 years after RoTJ)
The Millennium Falcon ran on a crew of two, Han and Chewie. but a typical freighter might have a crew 3-4 including loaders/cargo managers, pilots, navigator/co-pilot and an engineer to fix whatever goes wrong.
The only instance beyond that, in Deleted scenes from Return of the Jedi rebel personnel, manning the guns.
As Lando piloted and Nien Nubb handled, also there's audio implying there is a crew of 3-5 onboard including battle engineers to keep systems operational.
In Pre-Disney continuity automation was implied. In Star Wars #20 (2013 by Dark Horse), set shortly after the Battle of Yavin, we see the Falcon has been upgraded with its weapons integrated into the sensors.
