Type 63 107 mm rocket

The Type 63 107 mm rocket is a Chinese-origin, spin-stabilized unguided artillery rocket fired from Type 63-family launchers and improvised launch arrangements. Its light weight, short range, and simple electrical initiation have made the family common in irregular indirect-fire attacks; in the War in Afghanistan, U.S. military reporting documented Taliban forces firing a Type 63 107 mm rocket at Camp Dahlke in 2018.

War in AfghanistanTaliban and allied militants

Conflict side: Taliban and allied militants
Built by: State Factory 847Norinco and licensed or copied producers
Built in: China

Type 63 107 mm rocket, Unguided 107 mm artillery rocket, Munitions

Image source: Afghan 107 mm Rocket Cache Image

Profile

Type: Unguided 107 mm artillery rocket
Conflict side: Taliban and allied militants
Origin: China
Service note: 1960s Chinese rocket family with continued insurgent use in Afghanistan

rocket artillery unguided strike

Service History

In service: Introduced with the Type 63 launcher family in the 1960s; documented in Afghanistan conflict reporting in 2018
Used by: Taliban and allied militants
Wars: War in Afghanistan

Production History

Designer: State Factory 847
Designed: Late 1950s to 1961
Built by: State Factory 847Norinco and licensed or copied producers
Built in: China
Produced: 1963 onward for the launcher family, with multiple international copies and derivatives
Variants: Type 63 HE-fragmentation rocket, Type 63-2 rocket, 107 mm incendiary rocket, Fajr-1/Haseb Iranian derivative

Specifications

Caliber: 107 mm
Guidance: Unguided, spin-stabilized rocket with electrical initiation
Range: About 8.5 km for standard ammunition
Weight: About 18.8 kg for the Type 63-2 rocket
Warhead: High-explosive fragmentation; Type 63-2 described with a TNT main charge of about 1.3 kg
Launch platform: Type 63-family multiple rocket launchers, single-tube launchers, and improvised launch arrangements

Conflict Usage

War in Afghanistan: Side: Taliban and allied militantsRole: Short-range indirect rocket attackstrike
A U.S. Air National Guard account says Taliban forces fired a Type 63 107 mm rocket into Camp Dahlke, Afghanistan, on March 18, 2018, where it was intercepted by a C-RAM defensive system.

Type 63 107 mm rocket Images

Type 63 107 mm rocket, Unguided 107 mm artillery rocket, Munitions - view 1 — Source: Afghan 107 mm Rocket Cache Image

Type 63 107 mm rocket, Unguided 107 mm artillery rocket, Munitions - view 2 — Source: Type 63 107 mm Multiple Rocket Launcher Image

Type 63 107 mm rocket, Unguided 107 mm artillery rocket, Munitions - view 3 — Source: 107 mm Rocket Found in Nyiragongo Image

Related Weapon Systems

122 mm Katyusha rocket, Unguided 122 mm artillery rocket, Munitions

Munitions122 mm Katyusha rocketUnguided 122 mm artillery rocketThe 122 mm Katyusha rocket is the common Grad-style unguided artillery rocket family associated with BM-21 and improvised launchers. In the Lake Chad basin, ISWAP has used captured Grad-compatible rockets for crude long-range attacks on towns and military facilities, while in Yemen open-source investigations document pro-Houthi use of 122 mm unguided rockets in Aden.

Fajr-3 rocket, 240 mm unguided artillery rocket, Munitions

MunitionsFajr-3 rocket240 mm unguided artillery rocketThe Fajr-3 is an Iranian 240 mm unguided artillery rocket associated with the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group and the North Korean M-1985 design lineage. It is a heavy, solid-fueled rocket built for multiple-launch systems and long-range area fire rather than precision strikes.

SS-60 Mk4 Cluster Rocket, 300 mm unguided cluster artillery rocket, Munitions

MunitionsSS-60 Mk4 Cluster Rocket300 mm unguided cluster artillery rocketThe SS-60 Mk4 is a Brazilian 300 mm ASTROS-family unguided artillery rocket made by Avibras for long-range area fires. In the Yemen Civil War, open-source investigations identified SS-60 Mk4-marked rocket remnants and Brazilian ASTROS cluster munition rockets after Saudi-led coalition strikes in Saada governorate.

9K52 Luna-M artillery rocket system, Artillery rocket system, Artillery

Artillery9K52 Luna-M artillery rocket systemArtillery rocket systemThe 9K52 Luna-M, known to NATO as FROG-7, is a Soviet wheeled short-range artillery rocket system whose unguided 9M21 rockets remained in Houthi hands during the Yemen Civil War, where they were used for close-range and cross-border strikes.

Qassam-series unguided rocket, Improvised short-range unguided artillery rocket, Artillery

ArtilleryQassam-series unguided rocketImprovised short-range unguided artillery rocketThe Qassam-series rocket is a locally produced, unguided steel-tube artillery rocket associated with Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Its short range, simple solid propellant, and crude launch arrangements make it a low-cost area-fire weapon rather than a precision system; during the Israel-Hamas War, Hamas-led forces used Qassam-series rockets within massed rocket and mortar barrages from Gaza into Israel.

Falaq-1 rocket, Unguided surface-to-surface rocket, Munitions

MunitionsFalaq-1 rocketUnguided surface-to-surface rocketThe Falaq-1 is an Iranian 240 mm unguided surface-to-surface rocket associated with Hezbollah's short-range arsenal. In the Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, Israeli and AP reporting tied the weapon to Hezbollah's July 2024 strike on Majdal Shams, making it a documented part of the conflict's rocket-fire pattern.

Sources

171st Air National Guardsman Receives Army Combat Action BadgePublisher: 171st Air Refueling Wing, U.S. Air National Guard | Note: Supports War in Afghanistan direct use: a Type 63 107 mm rocket was fired by Taliban forces into Camp Dahlke, Afghanistan, on March 18, 2018. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Type 63 107mm RocketPublisher: Federation of American Scientists | Note: Supports Type 63 rocket background, unguided spin-stabilized design, firing platforms, diameter, weight, range, and warhead information. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 107mm Type 63-2 RocketPublisher: CAT-UXO | Note: Supports Type 63-2 rocket identification as a Chinese 107 mm high-explosive fragmentation, spin-stabilized ground-to-ground rocket. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Type 63Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports Type 63 family origin, development, producer, licensed or copied variants, 107 mm rocket firepower, and standard range context. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Afghan 107 mm Rocket Cache ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Army photograph of four 107 mm rockets unearthed in Paktika province, Afghanistan. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Type 63 107 mm Multiple Rocket Launcher ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 photograph of a Type 63 107 mm multiple rocket launcher. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 107 mm Rocket Found in Nyiragongo ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 photograph of a 107 mm rocket in the Type 63 ammunition category. | Accessed: 2026-06-21