Profile
- Type
- 82 mm smoothbore mortar
- Conflict side
- UkraineRussia-backed forces
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Entered Soviet service in 1984; still fielded by post-Soviet forces
Artillery
2B14 Podnos
The 2B14 Podnos is a Soviet 82 mm smoothbore mortar developed in the early 1980s as a lighter, longer-ranged replacement for older battalion mortars. Its portable barrel, baseplate, and bipod loads make it suitable for light infantry fire support, and OSCE reporting documents Podnos mortars on both sides of the Donbas front during the Russia-Ukraine War.
- Conflict side
- UkraineRussia-backed forces
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
Service History
- In service
- 1984-present
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian armed forces and Russia-backed formations
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- Soviet design bureau associated with Gorky Engineering Plant
- Designed
- 1983
- Built in
- Soviet UnionRussia
- Unit cost
- About $15,000 in 1992
- Produced
- 1984-present
- Number built
- Over 3,000 reported by WeaponSystems.net
- Variants
- 2B14, 2B14-1
Specifications
- Caliber
- 82 mm smoothbore mortar
- Crew
- 4-5 personnel, depending on source and operating practice
- Weight
- About 42 kg in firing position
- Maximum range
- About 4.0-4.27 km, depending on ammunition and source
- Rate of fire
- Up to 24-30 rounds per minute maximum
- Elevation
- 45 to 85 degrees
- Mobility
- Breaks down into barrel, baseplate, and bipod loads; optional 2F510 two-wheel carriage
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: UkraineRussia-backed forces
OSCE monitoring reports documented 2B14 Podnos 82 mm mortars in the Donbas security zone and storage-site monitoring, including Ukrainian Armed Forces storage records in 2016 and UAV sightings in government- and non-government-controlled areas in April 2019.
2B14 Podnos Images
Related Weapon Systems
M22460 mm lightweight company mortarThe M224 is a U.S. 60 mm lightweight company mortar built for infantry close-support fires from either a conventional bipod/baseplate setup or a lighter handheld mode. Its modest weight, 70- to 3,490-meter conventional-mode range, and high-angle fire make it useful for small-unit suppression, screening, and illumination missions; Ukrainian forces have been documented employing U.S.-made M224 mortars during the Russia-Ukraine War.
120-PM-38120 mm towed heavy mortarThe 120-PM-38, also known as the M1938, is a Soviet 120 mm smoothbore heavy mortar designed under B. I. Shavyrin and built for infantry fire support. Its large mortar bomb, wheeled transport arrangement, and roughly 5.7 km range made it a durable Soviet artillery design, with Ukrainian stocks still documented around the Russia-Ukraine War rather than acquired as a modern foreign transfer.
2S12 Sani120 mm heavy mortar systemThe 2S12 Sani is a Soviet/Russian 120 mm mortar system built around the 2B11 mortar, a wheeled carriage, and a transport vehicle. It gives battalion-level units a mobile indirect-fire weapon with a roughly 7 km range, and modernized 2S12A systems on Ural-based vehicles have continued to appear in Russian supply and combat reporting during the Russia-Ukraine War.
MO-120 RT120 mm rifled towed heavy mortarThe MO-120 RT is a French 120 mm rifled towed heavy mortar developed by Brandt and later associated with TDA/Thales production. Its rifled barrel, two-wheel carriage, and rocket-assisted ammunition option give it longer range than many smoothbore infantry mortars, while remaining towable by light or medium vehicles. In the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukrainian forces received Belgian MO-120 RT mortars and used the type for front-line indirect fire support.
PM-43120 mm towed heavy mortarThe PM-43 is a Soviet 120 mm smoothbore heavy mortar, a strengthened wartime development of the PM-38 that combined a large high-explosive bomb, a two-wheel carriage, and a six-person crew for infantry fire support. OSCE monitoring documented a probable PM-43 in a non-government-controlled area of Luhansk oblast during the Russia-Ukraine War, showing how legacy Soviet mortars remained present alongside newer 120 mm systems.
2A36 Giatsint-B152 mm towed field gunThe 2A36 Giatsint-B is a Soviet 152 mm towed field gun built for long-range indirect fire and counter-battery work. Its 49-caliber barrel gives it greater reach than many older Soviet 152 mm systems, and Ukrainian forces have fielded the type during the Russia-Ukraine War, including likely Finnish 152 K 89 guns supplied from Finnish stocks.Sources
82mm 2B14 PodnosPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports background, development, producer, service-entry, production, user, mobility, and technical specification context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Analysis: Russian Defense Industry Promotes Modern Artillery Systems on Global Military MarketPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports Podnos role and Rosoboronexport-reported specifications including range, rate of fire, elevation, traverse, weight, and crew. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, 9 September 2016Publisher: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | Note: Directly documents a 2B14 Podnos mortar in Ukrainian Armed Forces permanent storage-site monitoring during the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Latest from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, 15 April 2019Publisher: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | Note: Directly documents probable and confirmed 2B14 Podnos 82 mm mortars in government- and non-government-controlled areas of Donbas during the Russia-Ukraine War. | Accessed: 2026-06-202B14 Podnos at Engineering Technologies 2010 ForumPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Primary image provenance; the file page lists James Robert Nockson as author and Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-202B14 Podnos at Engineering Technologies 2010 Forum (2)Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Gallery image provenance; the file page lists James Robert Nockson as author and Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-20