The Type 63 or its replicas are still in service with the armies of many countries and various insurgent armed groups.
China has never supplied lethal weapons to either side of the Ukrainian conflict, stated the official representative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, at a briefing.
"I am not aware of the situation you mentioned, but I want to emphasize that China has never supplied lethal weapons to either side of the conflict and strictly controls dual-use goods," said Mao Ning, responding to a request to comment on the claims by the Ukrainian Armed Forces that they recently allegedly destroyed a Chinese-made Type-63 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) used by the Russian armed forces in the so-called DPR.
The Type 63 is a towed multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) developed in the People's Republic of China in the early 1960s. It is one of the most widely used rocket artillery systems in the world. Besides China, it is in service with the armies of more than a dozen countries, as well as various armed groups, including illegal ones. Additionally, it is produced under license in several countries. It has been actively used in various armed conflicts in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa.
At first glance, the simple and outdated Type 63 system, due to its simplicity and reliability, has proven to be quite successful in fulfilling the tasks assigned to it. The system optimally combines a sufficiently high firepower (the 107-mm rocket projectile is comparable in power to a 105-mm howitzer high-explosive shell), lightness, and simplicity of design. For this reason, many countries decided not to "reinvent the wheel" by developing their own MLRS, but to purchase and copy one of the most successful systems.
Moreover, the fact that the Type 63 or its replicas are still in service with the armies of many countries and various insurgent armed groups, and that the list of producing countries for this system is expanding, confirms the necessity of light MLRS in ground forces. Due to the low weight and dimensions of the Type 63, improvised self-propelled MLRS based on various vehicles, mainly pickups, have become widespread.
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