During preparations for the Victory Day parade in russia, celebrated on May 9th, a notable piece of equipment appeared on the streets of Yekaterinburg, its photo was published on social media. In the picture, we can see the BM-14MM multiple launch rocket system, a true rarity of military history.
This rocket system was in service with the Soviet army in the old days of the 1950s, they were gradually decommissioned while the newer BM-21 Grad was taking their place. The Military Balance 2023 reference book issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, that we often mention as a reliable source in our articles, does not even mention them even as bygone era remnants hiding at russian storage bases.
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Moreover, other references reveal that this rocket launcher has an unusual for the russian army caliber of 140 millimeters, even North Korea doesn't use such ammunition, but Cuba still has an unspecified number of BM-14's. The base version, however, differs: the launcher is mounted on top of a ZiS-131 prototype truck, while the BM-14MM modification is based on its renamed derivative ZiL-131.
With these facts in mind, Defense Express assumes two potential versions of where the vehicle could have come from. It will also lead us to the answer if the vehicle may really end up in battle against the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The first explanation is that russians practice sort of a cargo cult which manifests in projects aiming to recreate in mock-ups or actually revive the equipment dusted in long-term storage for special occasions like parades or celebrations. Solely for that purpose, for example, the russian army bought a battalion of T-34 "parade" tanks from Laos in 2019 or made self-propelled replicas of the first-ever Soviet tank, the T-18 a.k.a. MS-1.
Thus the possibility should not be ruled out of a forgotten BM-14MM that remained in warehouses once again getting to see the light of the day after a minor revamp, just to make it good enough to move on its own and appear in public.
Another explanation as to how a BM-14MM could have emerged on the parade rehearsal is a bit more complicated but nonetheless realistic. Although the 140mm caliber is non-standard for the russian army, i.e. the land force, it's quite common for the navy of russia. Multiple launch rocket systems are installed on two classes of russian battleships: Project 1204 Shmel armored boats from the Caspian Flotilla and Project 1232.2 Zubr air-cushioned landing craft, both vessels to this day remain in service with the russian fleet.
Furthermore, the Soviet army had a BM-14 modification named BM-14-17 designed for marine infantry specifically.
If that is the case, some BM-14-17 rocket systems could have retained their combat capability and thus eventually may resurface on the battlegrounds of Ukraine.
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