Let's talk about Roshel and their newest vehicle

Wow, how long as it been since I got to talk about Roshel? It definitely feels like forever not since early last year, that I got a chance to actually speak about them.

They've just been so quiet, and despite many people asking, I've had little info to share. They've has a very quiet few months that I've let pass by. I even complained about it on Twitter a few days ago!

Well what do you know, I've been blessed with the fun responsibility of getting back to my roots and leaking info about a random company that we have all universally agreed to love.

That's right, we have a new vehicle to show off! Also a new look at the previously announced SENVAC. I wasn't expecting these today, far from it, so consider this an emergency post.

The Senator Medvac (SENMED)

The Medical Evacuation variant of the Senator isn't new. We first got a glimpse of it last year, in an end of the year video the company released alongside the Captain. These, though, are the first comprehensive look I've reviewed of the platform, which has already been tested in service.

The SENMED is based of the Senator MPV GEN II platform, similar to other such as the SENEOD. It does not feature the V-shaped hull of the SENRAP line but does feature uo to STANAG II Ballistic/Blast protection.

The SENMED features room for up to four patients, along with a singular paramedic. It is, at the end of the day, a standard SENMPV outside of that. I am honestly shocked it took this long for someone to send me photos of it, given it has already been in active use for several months.

Outside of the standard, we also get a look at some of the digital upgrades of the Senator series. Roshel has slowly been adding to the technology package of the baseline Senators the last year, with updated cameras, a new center console, and improved integration options for things like CUAS and Unmanned Teaming.

It isn't necessarily anything radical. Almost any vehicle of this class will have some sort of Medical variant, and we've known of this ones existence for two years now. It does however give us a potential snapshot of the platforms we might have available to us if Roshel proceeds further in LUV.

Of course, this isn't the big development to come from Roshel the last couple days. It is very rare that the company shows off any sort of new vehicle. The last new vehicle we got a glance at was the Senator SMP, a platform I had showed off late last year that the company has still yet to confirm publicly.

Before that it was Roshels acquisition of the KF411 from Panzer, essentially a copy of the Mamba MK.5 developed by Osprea in Sourh Africa. That platform also remains elusive eight months after the acquisition was confirmed.

Now, we have another one. Those whom have followed me long, especially on the Roshel front might remember this one from Roshels past - The Admiral.

The Admiral APC

This is absolutely something I didn't expect to see, at least not something that I knew about. Roshel has several vehicles and platforms in the works, along with some like the KF411 that have been confirmed but dark in their existence.

For those who don't know, when Roshel first launched their armoured vehicle line they had three available offering:

• The Land Cruiser based Partisan

• The F-550 based Senator

• The Kenworth based Admiral

Of these platforms, after 2022, only the Senator survived, finding a lease on life in Ukraine, while the Partisan and Admiral were quietly discontinued, seemingly destined to the annals of history.

Then, last year, the company decided to take another launch at a Land Cruiser based vehicle in the Captain. This updated refresh of the original Partisan added a second family of vehicles to the Roshel family, offering a cheaper, lighter alternative to the Senator.

From there I assumed we were seeing a fairly comprehensive lineup forming for the company to base themselves around:

• Captain

• Senator

• KF411

• Roshel 8x8

Along with all their respective variants and versions. This, to me, is a fairly comprehensive lineup of vehicles that fulfills most of the customer base that Roshel might be looking to exploit.

So imagine my surprise that Roshel has seemingly decided to throw in the Admiral into the mix, and seemingly in a near identical form to the previous version of the platform.

No real changes. No seemingly radical ideas. They even kept the name. It is quite literally a full relaunch of the Admiral platform, except now we have more comprehensive photos instead of the one ancient one I had lying around.

Now, I quite literally only have the photos to go off of. I don't know if it still uses the same chassis, nor if the layout remains the same. I imagine it would be a decent guess, unless Roshel surprises us.

The original version of the Admiral was quite the monster in itself, based off the T370, I believe, rated to up to STANAG IIIa Blast/Ballistic protection and fit up to sixteen occupants. She was what I would consider a true MRAP as many would know them.

This new version seems to keep almost all the same in terms of that, with an extra emphasis on the media I was sent focusing on its protection, and by focusing I mean it's the entire piece.

I would be surprised, given the SENRAP is also rated at a STANAG IIIa rating if this isn't higher than the original concept. At the time, the Senator wasn't expected to provide the current levels of protection it does now with thr SENRAP. That fell squarely on the Admiral.

Now, as the company has advanced and evolved, the Admiral is no longer needed for its intended purpose, at least not how it was originally conceived.

At the least I expect the new Admiral to be at STANAG IV levels of protection. That is a good place to put it for now. I expect it to also be similar in size to the MaxxPro based off the initial look.

I can understand the justification for adding a heavier platform to the SENRAP. There is still a market for heavier, larger MRAP in places Roshel has been looking to expand to like South America, Africa and the Middle East.

We've even seen some of this direction in the acquisition of the KF411.

The access to a Mamba-based vehicle, a classic platform that has found its way across the third-world and UN gives Roshel a ready-made market that will have hundreds of identical vehicles looking for either a refresh or replacement in the coming years.

These markets are also the places where traditional MRAP, an area often dominated by US surplus and South African manufacturers would be looking for something like the Admiral to act as a heavier counterpart to the KF411.

It is a sound package in my books, helped by the likely civilian-based chassis and commercial parts the platform is based off of. This is a similar idea to what we've seen with the Captain, which has found a stable home with MSS in Haiti.

I am just shocked I never heard about its revival. I thought I had this company all figured out, along with its lineup. I guess it goes to show you that surprises can come from anywhere you might least expect.

Either way I'm happy for the company. Hopefully we get to see the full roster at CANSEC this year. Wouldn't that be something to see! Maybe this is also a sign that we'll see the company actually discuss some of the missing platforms like the SMP and KF411 that they've been keeping in the dark.