BM-14-17

Also known as

BM-14-17 8U36
8U36
BM-14-17M
8U36M

The BM-14-17 is the 17-tube Soviet launch vehicle in the M-14 rocket artillery family. This relationship-only record links the launcher to the cataloged 140 mm M-14 rocket and to the existing Project 1204 Shmel boat record where the launcher appears as carried armament.

BM-14-17, 140 mm 17-tube multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

Image source: Wikimedia Commons BM-14-17 launcher image

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin: Soviet Union
Built by: Soviet ordnance production
Type: 140 mm 17-tube multiple rocket launcher
Service note: Cold War Soviet rocket artillery launcher
Designer: A. I. Yaskin-led Soviet design team
Designed: Development completed in 1958
Produced: Cold War Soviet production

Specifications

Caliber: 140 mm
Launch tubes: 17 tubes, with nine in the upper row and eight in the lower row
Primary rocket: 140 mm M-14-OF spin-stabilized rocket
Other documented rockets: M-14D smoke rounds and chemical-warhead branches in M-14 family references
Truck chassis: GAZ-63 / GAZ-63A for BM-14-17; GAZ-66 for BM-14-17M in Missilery data
Full salvo: 7-10 seconds in Missilery's BM-14-17 data
Reload time: 90-120 seconds in Missilery's BM-14-17 data
Carried installation: Project 1204 Shmel river artillery boats carried a BM-14-17 launcher

Rockets Launched

Sources identify BM-14-17 as a 140 mm launcher for M-14 family rockets.

Launched item

Item type

Launch evidence

140 mm M-14 rocket, 140 mm unguided artillery rocket, Munitions

140 mm M-14 rocket

140 mm unguided artillery rocket

Missilery identifies M-14-OF as the main projectile for BM-14-17 and says the launcher family was unified by ammunition with other BM-14 vehicles.

Sources: Missilery BM-14-17 launcher

Carrier Platforms

The launcher also appears as a carried armament item on a cataloged river artillery boat.

Carrier

Carrier type

Carriage evidence

Project 1204 Shmel / Shmel-class patrol boat, Armored patrol boat / river gunboat, Naval Systems

Project 1204 Shmel / Shmel-class patrol boat

River artillery boat

Victory Museum lists the Project 1204 Shmel armament fit with a 140 mm BM-14-17 launcher.

Sources: Victory Museum Project 1204 Shmel

Related Weapon Systems

BM-14-16, 140 mm 16-tube multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

ArtilleryBM-14-16140 mm 16-tube multiple rocket launcherThe BM-14-16 is the 16-tube truck-mounted launcher in the Soviet M-14 140 mm rocket artillery family. It is included here as a relationship-only launch platform for the cataloged 140 mm M-14 rocket, without carrying conflict-use claims from the munition record onto the launcher page.

Project 1204 Shmel / Shmel-class patrol boat, Armored patrol boat / river gunboat, Naval Systems

Naval SystemsProject 1204 Shmel / Shmel-class patrol boatArmored patrol boat / river gunboatThe Project 1204 Shmel class is a Soviet armored river gunboat family designed by Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau for shallow rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. It put a PT-76-derived 76 mm turret, a BM-14-17 rocket launcher, automatic cannon, machine guns, and mine rails on a compact shallow-draft hull, making it a fire-support and patrol craft rather than an oceangoing combatant. Russian Shmel boats were documented in the Kerch and Sea of Azov security context during the Russo-Ukrainian War, while Ukrainian Sea Guard Dzhmil examples survived in Danube-area service and training.

140 mm M-14 rocket, 140 mm unguided artillery rocket, Munitions

Munitions140 mm M-14 rocket140 mm unguided artillery rocketThe 140 mm M-14 is a Soviet spin-stabilized artillery rocket family developed for BM-14 and RPU-14 multiple rocket launchers. Open references identify high-explosive fragmentation, smoke/incendiary, and chemical-warhead branches; conflict documentation places an M-14 rocket motor in the 2013 Western Ghouta attack during the Syrian Civil War, with attribution and payload evidence handled narrowly because public imagery and UN reporting identify the motor and attack context more clearly than a recovered intact M-14 warhead.

RPU-14, 140 mm 16-tube towed rocket launcher, Artillery

ArtilleryRPU-14140 mm 16-tube towed rocket launcherThe RPU-14 is a towed 16-tube 140 mm launcher developed for Soviet airborne artillery units and M-14 family rockets. It is a relationship-only record because the cited sources support its launcher-to-rocket relationship and specifications, not a separate conflict-use row.

BM-21 Grad, 122 mm multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

ArtilleryBM-21 Grad122 mm multiple rocket launcherThe BM-21 Grad is a Soviet 122 mm multiple rocket launcher built around a 40-tube launcher on a wheeled truck chassis. In the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War it remains a common area-fire system on both sides, valued for rapid salvos and mobility but dependent on shoot-and-scoot tactics because the launcher is carried on an unarmored truck.

DBA-117 (AG17) automatic grenade launcher, 30 mm automatic grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons

Infantry WeaponsDBA-117 (AG17) automatic grenade launcher30 mm automatic grenade launcherThe DBA-117 (AG17), also cataloged as KBA-117 or KBA-17, is a Ukrainian 30 mm automatic grenade launcher adapted for remotely operated combat modules. Official product material places it on BM Grom, Shkval, BM-3 Shturm, Katran-M, and BM-7 Parus modules, while Ukrainian vehicle references identify it on BTR-3 and BTR-4 family weapon stations.

BMD-20, 200 mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher, Artillery

ArtilleryBMD-20200 mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcherThe BMD-20 was the Soviet 8U33 truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher built to fire four 200 mm MD-20-F Shtorm-1 rockets. It used a ZIS-151 or related 6x6 truck chassis, four lattice-style launch rails, and a short full-salvo time, but public sources checked here support a launcher-and-rocket relationship rather than a directly documented conflict-use row.

BM-27 Uragan, 220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket system, Artillery

ArtilleryBM-27 Uragan220 mm self-propelled multiple launch rocket systemThe BM-27 Uragan is the Soviet 9K57 220 mm multiple launch rocket system, built around the 16-tube 9P140 launcher and 9T452 transporter-loader on ZIL-135LM-family wheeled chassis. Its rocket family gives heavier payloads than BM-21 Grad-class systems, including high-explosive fragmentation, cluster, incendiary, fuel-air explosive, and mine-scattering rounds. Documented use spans Russia-Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, with the system still relevant through Ukrainian overhaul work and Bureviy modernization.

Sources

Missilery BM-14-17 launcherPublisher: Missilery.info | Note: Supports BM-14-17 / 8U36 identity, 1958 development completion, 17-tube layout, chassis context, M-14-OF as main projectile, M-14D and chemical-warhead rocket compatibility, and specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-13 FAS RPU-14 launcherPublisher: Federation of American Scientists | Note: Supports the relationship claim that BM-14-16, BM-14-17, and RPU-14 fired the same high-explosive fragmentation, chemical, and M-14D smoke rounds. | Accessed: 2026-07-13 Victory Museum Project 1204 ShmelPublisher: Victory Museum | Note: Supports Project 1204 Shmel armament context, including the BM-14-17 launcher carried by the river artillery boat. | Accessed: 2026-07-13 Wikimedia Commons BM-14-17 launcher imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and CC BY-SA 4.0 licensing for the BM-14-17 launcher photograph. | Accessed: 2026-07-13