Ukraine accelerates frontline deliveries with senator vehicles
The Ukrainian defense industry has proudly announced that it has received production data for the Roshel Senator vehicles, which will significantly speed up their delivery to frontline units. Here we present what they are and their capabilities.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Ukraine has obtained plans enabling comprehensive production of Senator-type MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles from the Canadian company Roshel Defence.
These vehicles are not new, as over a thousand Senator vehicles have already been delivered to Ukraine, where they save soldiers' lives. Due to the lack of available infantry fighting vehicles, Ukraine is using MRAPs as substitutes on a large scale. They are not the optimal solution but are better than civilian pickups.
Senator — the armored taxi for Ukrainians from Canada
The Senator is a 4x4 vehicle capable of carrying up to 12 soldiers, offering good mine resistance and decent ballistic protection based on a Ford F-550 chassis. According to the manufacturer, it is capable of withstanding an anti-tank mine blast, and its steel armor meets a mix of Levels II and III standards of the STANAG 4569.
This means the vehicle is resistant to artillery fragments from a 155 mm shell strike at a distance of 262 feet and to fire from small arms of 7.62x39 mm caliber loaded with API armor-piercing rounds with tungsten carbide bullets. Class III refers to resistance to mines containing 18 pounds of TNT. This level of protection is less comprehensive than that offered by the M2A2 Bradley or Marder 1A3, which are resistant to heavy machine guns from all sides. However, the Senator is superior to a converted civilian pickup.
In terms of armaments, the standard for the Senator is a manned or remotely operated turret, usually equipped with a Browning M2 heavy machine gun of 12.7x99 mm NATO caliber. Models with the Ukrainian Tavria turret, featuring a more powerful KPWT heavy machine gun of 14.5x114 mm, are also popular.
