The Type 70 is the 130mm 19-tube multiple launch rocket system developed in the early 1970s by marrying the Type 63 truck-mounted 130mm rocket launcher with the Type 63 tracked armoured personnel carrier (APC). The vehicle provided the PLA with a badly needed self-propelled artillery rocket system with armour protection for the use of armoured troops. The APC has a 19-tube launcher grouped in two rows (top: 10; bottom 9) mounted on its roof. The launch is raised in the firing position and lowered when travelling. The system was retired from active service in the late 1990s and replaced by the more capable Type 89 122mm artillery rocket system.