17 October 2023

AUSA 2023: Roshel details Senator MRAP vehicle

by Alejandro Sanchez

Canada's Roshel said it has delivered over 750 Senator MRAPs to Ukraine. The vehicles have a V-shaped hull design and an underbelly blast protection armour. (Alejandro Sanchez)

Canada's Roshel showcased a mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) variant of the Senator smart armoured vehicle at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 annual conference in Washington, DC, held on 9–11 October.

“We have delivered over 750 Senators to Ukraine, including over 300 MRAP variants,” Roman Shimonov, CEO of Roshel, told Janes at AUSA 2023. “Every day, we produce five vehicles for Ukraine, the United States, Canada, among other clients.” While not disclosing future deliveries, Shimonov noted that Costa Rica and South Korea have also acquired Senators.

The MRAP has a V-shaped hull design, an underbelly blast protection armour, a 6.7 litre Diesel V8 engine, and a gross vehicle weight of 8,845 kg. The vehicle has an operational range of up to 800 km and a top speed of 120 km/h. The Senator has a seating capacity of 10, according to a company factsheet.

Shimonov said Roshel can integrate third-party payloads into the Senator, such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems (tethered or not), remote-control weapon systems, or a smoke screen system. The model displayed at AUSA mounted on the vehicle's roof a tethered UAV platform produced by the US-based Easy Aerial company. The payload capacity is between 1,200 and 2,000 kg.

Roshel, launched in 2016, introduced the armoured personnel carrier variant of the Senator in 2017. The MRAP version was launched in the first quarter of 2023.

Canada's Roshel showcased a mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) variant of the Senator smart armo...

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