Thread by @ColbyBadhwar

🇨🇦🇺🇦 There are many examples of lacklustre support to Ukraine, but Canada's @RoshelDefence isn't one of them. They have delivered 1000 armoured vehicles to Ukraine, and counting.

This is a thread of highlights from my exclusive interview with Roshel's CEO, Roman Shimonov.

1/11

Please do read the entire interview, linked below, @ArchivesDefense. My thanks to @ThrustWR and the team there for publishing it in full. Here are some of the most interesting things that Roman had to say though. ⬇️



2/11defensearchives.de/editorials/ros…

In 2022 they delivered 70 Senator APCs to Ukraine on an urgent requirement contract from the Czech Ministry of Defence in under 3 months, ahead of schedule. A stark contrast to other companies taking years to fulfill orders. Roshel is running 3 shifts to meet demand.

3/11

The success of Senator on the battlefields of Ukraine has earned them both additional contracts to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces and for other customers around the world. With orders from:

🇨🇦 Canada
🇺🇸 USA
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
🇧🇦 Bosnia
🇮🇱 Israel
🇰🇷 South Korea
🌎 & others

4/11

Their success has certainly been noticed here in Canada as well, and they are optimistic that they will grow considerably with domestic orders. They
submitted a bid for the Canadian Forces' Light Utility Vehicle procurement program and anticipate hearing results soon.

5/11

The Senator is currently produced in 4 configurations: APC, ERV, MRAP & Pickup. They have also have a new medical evacuation variant and are looking for donors to place orders for it on Ukraine's behalf. Additional variants, including demining, are also in development.

6/11

Roshel currently has 4 facilities in Ontario, and is actively planning expansions to both the United States & Europe. They are in the final stages of evaluating several different states for their expansion south of the border.

7/11

The expansion to Europe includes plans for facilities in both Germany & Ukraine. They already have repair workshops in Ukraine and are in the final planning stages for the localization of some production in the country. Roshel currently employs over 200 Ukrainian refugees.

8/11

Roshel has lots of other big plans for the future too. They're working on a fully electric vehicle, which I expect will be geared towards the civilian market, but EVs certainly have future potential in the defense sector. They're also developing an 8x8 vehicle.

9/11

What really sets Roshel apart though, is they do everything in house. Aside from the Ford chassis they build the Senator on, they have no subcontractors. They buy raw materials and fully construct the vehicles themselves. This significantly reduces supply chain delays.

10/11

Roman provided very detailed answers so I'll again encourage you to read our conversation in full. From just these highlights I'm sure you can see that Roshel has a lot of very exciting stuff going on, which will surely be of benefit to Ukraine & interest to many others.

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