Roshel Senator armored vehicles: what are these vehicles and how they protect the lives of our soldiers

Since the beginning of the year, the United States has provided Ukraine with 150 Senator armored vehicles for border guards and the Interior Ministry. Aboutreported The U.S. Embassy posted on its Facebook page. In this article, we will tell you about the special features of Roshel Senator vehicles and how they save the lives of our defenders.

How a little-known Canadian manufacturer Roshel became the main supplier of light armored vehicles to Ukraine

In 2016, an ambitious immigrant from Israel, Roman Shimonov, founded a company in Toronto Roshel Defence Solutions. Before that, the entrepreneur with Ukrainian roots served in the Israeli army and tried his hand at security services. That’s how the project of an armored luxury car for private individuals emerged, which eventually transformed into the idea of producing secure armored vehicles for banks.

In 2018, the first armored car rolled off the Roshel assembly line. During its development, an encrypted remote control system was implemented. It made it impossible for a single person to control a valuable cargo, which immediately attracted the interest of major players in the cash transportation market.

Since then, the Canadian private security giant GardaWorld has purchased hundreds of Shimonov’s collection vehicles, which have never been robbed. The reliability of Roshel’s products has built a reputation that has secured contracts with the US State Department, the Border Patrol, the police, and even NASA — secure Canadian vehicles have delivered American astronauts to SpaceX launches.

The use of the Ford F550 commercial truck chassis in Senator vehicles allowed Roshel to reduce the cost of its products, simplify their maintenance, and ultimately firmly establish its niche in the defense market. Therefore, after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, inexpensive and reliable Senator armored vehicles became one of the main candidates for inclusion in the list of military aid to Ukraine.

In July 2022, Roman Shymonov said Ukrinform company prepared the logistics in advance to quickly reorient to help the Ukrainian army when the war started. The company started working in two shifts seven days a week and increased the production of vehicles to four per day. Positive feedback from U.S. government agencies secured orders not only from Canada’s defense department but also from a number of NATO countries. Currently, 92% of Canadian armored vehicles in Ukraine are financed by other countries.

It’s also good to hear that Roshel is actively employing Ukrainian refugees. In the article Global News for November 2022, we talk about the participation of 30 Ukrainians in the production of Senator. And in the latest publications, we are talking about more than 100 specialists from Ukraine who, 8,000 kilometers away from their homeland, are making a significant contribution to our victory.

On March 12, 2025, it became known that Roshel had delivered a record 1700 armored Senator vehicles in various specifications to Ukraine. It is not clear whether this number includes the 150 vehicles reported by Ambassador Bridget Brink. But it is clearly more than any other global military equipment manufacturer, including such giants as General Dynamics and Oshkosh, has sent.

Speaking of Oshkosh. In an interview, Shimonov was asked to compare the Senator with the Oshkosh M-ATV, which is also supplied to Ukraine, albeit in much smaller volumes. Roman replied that it was a vehicle with an impressive level of protection (STANAG level 4), but it was several times pricier than his car. And at this price, not only the Ukrainian, but even the American defense budget would not be enough to cover the announced Ukrainian need for armored vehicles at the level of 3,000 units.

Types of Roshel Senator armored vehicles: APC and MRAP

There are five types of armored vehicles on the manufacturer’s website Senator: APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) for law enforcement and border patrol, ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) for rescuers and first responders, MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected), a pickup truck, and EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) to support explosive ordnance disposal teams.

Until recently, Ukraine has been supplied with mostly universal APC Senator. The first ones were even painted in black police color. But Ms. Brink’s statement refers to MRAPs. So it is possible that in the latest batches, the Canadian manufacturer has transferred vehicles with enhanced mine protection, which were officially introduced only in May 2023, and this is great news.

Here, perhaps, it is worth explaining in more detail what a MRAP is. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected is a class of armored vehicles that have increased resistance to mines and protect crews from small arms fire from ambushes. In the 1970s, MRAP vehicles appeared in South Africa as a response to the widespread use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by rebels.

Today, dozens of armored vehicles based on MRAP technology are on the market. Usually, these are off-road trucks or jeeps with an armored capsule mounted on the chassis. The lower part of such a capsule is always V-shaped and high above the ground. This is done to ensure that the energy of the mine explosion is reflected from the tilted armor plates outward and does not cause much damage to the living module.

Since most of the explosions occur under the front wheels, the front axles of the vehicle are made easily replaceable, and the driver’s seat is moved closer to the troops just in case. To further protect the crew, all seats are fitted with reliable seat belts. In turn, the seats themselves are not attached to the floor, but to the roof of the MRAP or are mounted on special springs that reliably dampen the impact of an explosion.

At the request of Ukrainian customers, the latest models have been equipped with the ability to use diesel fuel with a high sulfur content. In combat conditions, it is now possible, for example, to refuel with diesel fuel from a tank or an infantry fighting vehicle.

An empty Senator weighs from 7870 to 8970 kg and can carry 10 to 12 soldiers. The tires are equipped with bulletproof inserts, so the combat vehicle can leave the area of attack at speeds up to 50 km/h even with punctured wheels. There are 4 loopholes on each side for firing individual weapons, and a secure superstructure on the roof can be placed to mount a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.

At the request of customers, the vehicle can be equipped with a surveillance system with external video cameras, a remote weapon control system, a night vision system and a fire source detection system. The Senator’s armor provides a GEN B7 protection level — withstands hits from 7.62 mm and 50 caliber ammunition from 30 meters. And the armored floor protects against the simultaneous explosion of two hand grenades or light anti-personnel mines.

It should be noted that the Senator MRAP modification has significantly improved characteristics that meet the NATO standard STANAG 4569 level 2a/2b — protection against the detonation of 6 kg of explosives under the wheel or underbody. In the video above, you can see the consequences of such an explosion during testing — the engine and front axle are destroyed, but the armor capsule and its contents are not damaged.

How Senator armored vehicles save lives of Ukrainian rescuers

Despite the fact that the Senator was designed for auxiliary and police tasks, it is in service with many combat brigades and performs tasks on the front line. It acts as a forced alternative to conventional pickup trucks and protects the military from shelling.

At the same time, Canadian armored vehicles often exceed the boldest predictions of their creators. For example, Global News published a video in which Ukrainian soldiers demonstrate the consequences of an enemy 122 mm Grad «Grad» rocket hitting a Senator vehicle just a meter away. The body and wheels of the vehicle were cut by shrapnel, but the armor and glass fortunately held up, so no one was injured inside.