Domestic and Arctic Mobility Enhancement Project

[PrairieFella]

That would be good news. Do you have a reference?

Everyone's favourite non-credible, credible source, Noah Gairn's substack haha. Everything he says about Roshel has been accurate so far, but I still used that "might" in case he's incorrect.

 

[KevinB]

Sounds like BAE might be partnering with Roshel to build BVS10 in Canada if selected for the DAME project. Would certainly be cool to get that sweet, sweet beowulf.

Interesting.
Big win for Roshel if that is the case as they get a Global powerhouse for armored vehicles (and ships etc) onside.

Will be interesting to see if this goes forward what else BAE is interested in JV’ing on.

 

[PrairieFella]

Makes you wonder what BAE can bring to bear for other Roshel products too. A BAE designed and tested comms suite for example makes the Senator a lot more attractive.

 

[Furniture]

Makes you wonder what BAE can bring to bear for other Roshel products too. A BAE designed and tested comms suite for example makes the Senator a lot more attractive.

Particularly to governments that can't afford the high-end boutique kit coming out of the traditional armored vehicle companies.

Could be the Chevrolet to BAE's more traditional Buick and Cadillac vehicles.

 

[KevinB]

Makes you wonder what BAE can bring to bear for other Roshel products too. A BAE designed and tested comms suite for example makes the Senator a lot more attractive.

I'm thinking an actually protected Senator might be nice too

BAE isn't really into Comms, they are into Battle Management, but yeah having a design that is setup for easy install of modern digital radios helps.

 

[PrairieFella]

I'm thinking an actually protected Senator might be nice too

No need for scope creep of an ech vehicle. It's not an APC or IFV, it's a rear area PMV thus small arms and land mine resistance is perfectly serviceable.

BAE isn't really into Comms, they are into Battle Management, but yeah having a design that is setup for easy install of modern digital radios helps.

I picked the worst example of the top of my head for something BAE can help with lol. A proper BlueForce type system would certainly be a major upgrade for our fleet of F and A Ech vehicles.

 

[KevinB]

No need for scope creep of an ech vehicle. It's not an APC or IFV, it's a rear area PMV thus small arms and land mine resistance is perfectly serviceable.

I picked the worst example of the top of my head for something BAE can help with lol. A proper BlueForce type system would certainly be a major upgrade for our fleet of F and A Ech vehicles.

I think you should have swung for a CV-90 type vehicle

 

[PrairieFella]

I think you should have swung for a CV-90 type vehicle

The crewman in me is asking you politely not to play with my feelings like that lmao.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Meanwhile Roshel and CZ agree to setup production there as well

Roshel to build armored vehicles in Czech Republic

Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel and Czech firm OMNIPOL have signed a strategic agreement to launch localized production of Senator-series armored vehicles in the Czech Republic. The deal was formally concluded today at the IDET 2025 defense exhibition in Brno, in the presence of Czech...

defence-blog.com

 

[YZT580]

Meanwhile Roshel and CZ agree to setup production there as well

Roshel to build armored vehicles in Czech Republic

Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel and Czech firm OMNIPOL have signed a strategic agreement to launch localized production of Senator-series armored vehicles in the Czech Republic. The deal was formally concluded today at the IDET 2025 defense exhibition in Brno, in the presence of Czech...

defence-blog.com

Will they stay with the Ford Chassis or go with a Euro-designed replacement?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Will they stay with the Ford Chassis or go with a Euro-designed replacement?

They do have Toyota based product as well.

 

[PrairieFella]

They do have Toyota based product as well.

Further, at CANSEC they had a Senator based on a Ram with a Cummins.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Meanwhile Roshel and CZ agree to setup production there as well

Roshel to build armored vehicles in Czech Republic

Canadian defense manufacturer Roshel and Czech firm OMNIPOL have signed a strategic agreement to launch localized production of Senator-series armored vehicles in the Czech Republic. The deal was formally concluded today at the IDET 2025 defense exhibition in Brno, in the presence of Czech...

defence-blog.com

Connection?
Omnipol (the Czech company that Roshel has partnered with) is a leading defence company but they don't seem to have a division that makes armored vehs. The Czechs (like most countries) would prefer that their weapons be made locally, so if there was an existing chassis from a Czech vehicle manufacturer (Skoda, Tatra, . . .) that fit Roshel's specs things would be ideal.

Universal wheeled platform – another chance for the Czech defence industry

In early November 2024, the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic announced that it will launch a tender for a new armoured vehicle, which is referred to…

www.czdefence.com

In early November 2024, the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic announced that it will launch a tender for a new armoured vehicle, which is referred to as the UKP (Universal Wheeled Platform). It is to be a four-wheeled armoured vehicle that will serve in the Czech Army as a vehicle for engineer troops, as an ambulance and as a vehicle for military police. ...

 

[calculus]

Sounds like BAE might be partnering with Roshel to build BVS10 in Canada if selected for the DAME project. Would certainly be cool to get that sweet, sweet beowulf.

Looks like not BVS10, but rather the ST Engineering ExtremV, which is very similar in function to the BVS10.

Roshel to manufacture Singapore's ExtremV tracked vehicle in Canada for Arctic Mobility Program

Roshel to manufacture Singapore's ExtremV tracked vehicle in Canada for Arctic Mobility Program

armyrecognition.com

 

[PrairieFella]

First look at a Roshel-built ExtremV/Bronco that I've seen.

https://nitter.net/RoshelDefence/status/1933163275677794567#m

 

[Kirkhill]

Looking at the ground pressure of tanks and IFVs got me to thinking more about this.

The grand-daddy of the type is the Bv206

Bv206 - 13.1 kPa / 1.9 psi - baseline with 2.25 tonne payload
Bv206S - 13.6 kPa / 2 psi - armoured 206 with 2.25 tonne payload
ExtremV - 19 kPa / 2.8 psi - baseline with 4 tonne payload
Bronco - 60 kPa / 8.7 psi - armoured with 5 tonne payload
Beowulf - 25 kPa / 3.6 psi - baseline with 8 tonne payload
Viking - 30 kPa / 4.35 psi - armoured with 3-5 tonne payload

EXTREMV – civilian all-terrain tracked vehicle | DICOSY GmbH

The EXTEMV is a civilian all-terrain tracked vehicle developed by ST Engineering, designed for civilian disaster relief and rescue operations: from the most effective and fastest possible emergency rescue, through medical evacuation, to logistical transport and firefighting.

dicosy.com

US Army orders more Beowulf all-terrain vehicles

BAE Systems announced it has secured $68 million in contracts to produce 44 additional Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicles (CATV) for the U.S. Army. This includes a $48 million add-on to the existing full-rate production contract awarded in August 2022, as well as a $20 million award for 2025...

defence-blog.com

So how big a truck do you need? A 2, 4 or 8 tonne truck? Which will fly in a Hercules? Which will fly in a Chinook, or can be underslung?
I notice that both the new US Army Beowulf and the old Canadian Bv206 were deployed on Nanook-Nunalivut 2025.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1398986501444885

Is there any publicly available comparison of how the two trucks compared?
And is this a Canadian capability?

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=623800000516056

https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article-View/Article/3334082/national-guard-canada-conduct-tactical-arctic-insertion/

 

[Kirkhill]

Patria FAMOUS, from demonstrator to “far more than a prototype” - EDR Magazine

The Rovajärvi range was covered with deep snow, the natural habitat for a vehicle like the one issued from the FAMOUS programme.

www.edrmagazine.eu

This beast is starting to grow on me as a DAME alternative. The Finns operated both the Swedish Bv206 and the Soviet MTLB built on Ukraine.

They have developed a modern, westernized MTLB that they expect to operate alongside their 6x6 CAV.

The track has a dry or curb weight of 11.5 tonnes and an all up weight of 15 tonnes.

The CAV has an AUW of 24 tonnes, 21.5 if you don't want it to sink, and a payload of 8.5 tonnes.

Both are amphibious.

The track as an option for Reserve Transport Companies?

 

[GR66]

Patria FAMOUS, from demonstrator to “far more than a prototype” - EDR Magazine

The Rovajärvi range was covered with deep snow, the natural habitat for a vehicle like the one issued from the FAMOUS programme.

www.edrmagazine.eu

This beast is starting to grow on me as a DAME alternative. The Finns operated both the Swedish Bv206 and the Soviet MTLB built on Ukraine.

They have developed a modern, westernized MTLB that they expect to operate alongside their 6x6 CAV.

The track has a dry or curb weight of 11.5 tonnes and an all up weight of 15 tonnes.

The CAV has an AUW of 24 tonnes, 21.5 if you don't want it to sink, and a payload of 8.5 tonnes.

Both are amphibious.

The track as an option for Reserve Transport Companies?

I'm curious if the tracked FAMOUS could be carried in a C-130J. The length, height and weight would appear to be fine but the width is 2.9m and the cargo compartment of the C-130J is 3.12m. Pretty tight fit...and I'm not sure what room you need for tie-downs, etc.

BvS10 however is C-130J transportable.

 

[Fabius]

And is this a Canadian capability?

Did you mean the ski capable C130?

If so, no. Canada has relied on the US Air National Guard 109th Air Wing from New York to provide that capability.
We obviously have ski capable twin otters but the actual C130s doing so are all US.

The 109th is the only such formation in the US and they are quite busy between both poles.

 

[foresterab]

Or you go to the updated version of Bv206 Hagglund which is smaller to fit better into a C-130 but still armoured and has a turret gun:

BvS10 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Key for me is that is being used by multiple European countries and the USA and in some larger number purchases. There are also several hundred on order for other countries.

The only question to me is how many do we need to buy. There are 201 Canadian Ranger Patrol groups....do you start with a minimum of two per group? 3? Then decide what you want pre-positioned at places like Yellowknife/Churchill/Iqaluit for training. Nice thing is that you don't need heavy transport to move them around...a pick up with a gooseneck trailer can haul one so they're much easier to shift around than Amour units.

For context Germany is looking at a fleet of 640. What would Canada need with it's Artic aspects?