On April 22, after the 51st GRAU arsenal detonated, russian forces began collecting fragments of ammunition scattered across a wide area. Among the debris were remnants of unidentified unguided rocket projectiles.
Initially, these fragments were believed to be 107mm rockets designed for the Chinese Type 63 MLRS or its Iranian copy. However, in a recent interview with The War Zone, GUR chief Kyrylo Budanov stated that North Korea had delivered a broad range of weapons to russia, specifically mentioning 107mm infantry MLRS systems.
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Based on this information, Defense Express assesses that the destroyed munitions were likely of North Korean rather than Chinese origin. While the initial identification was not far off, it is important to note that the only 107mm infantry MLRS known to be in North Korean service is the Type 75, which is effectively a copy of the Chinese Type 63.
The technical specifications of the Type 75 remain unconfirmed but are assumed to be similar to the original. The Type 63 has a maximum range of 8 kilometers with standard rockets and up to 11 kilometers with improved versions. Each rocket weighs approximately 18 to 19 kilograms, with about 8 kilograms allocated to the warhead.
The launchers are typically mounted on a towed carriage, though other configurations have been documented. These include vehicle-mounted systems and single-tube launchers, as used in the Iranian variant.
The Type 63 was originally developed in China in the 1960s as a scaled-down version of the Soviet 140mm BM-14 MLRS. More than 30 countries, primarily in Asia and Africa, currently operate systems based on this design.
There are no confirmed reports of the Type 75 being used on the battlefield. If it has been deployed, those instances appear to be isolated. As a result, it is reasonable to conclude that most of the North Korean-supplied MLRS systems and rockets were destroyed during the explosion at the 51st GRAU depot.
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