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The newly developed Senator is designed for law enforcement and the border patrol, and raises questions about how useful vehicles will be for Ukrainian forces.
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May 31, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 5 minutes reading • 27 comments Canadian senators will be helpful to the Ukrainian police and “not so good for the military,” says a former Canadian general. Photo of Roshel
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Another important piece of Ottawa’s military aid to Ukraine has arrived in the country.
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Whether this is what the armed forces of the besieged nation of Canada need most, or almost a sufficient contribution, is another matter, experts say.
The Ukrainian military has taken possession of eight new “Senator” armored personnel carriers that the federal government bought from a Toronto manufacturer, according to Ukraine Weapons Tracker.
Armored personnel carriers, such as the famous LAV-4s used in Afghanistan, are one of the few items of Canadian military equipment built almost entirely in Canada, and seem natural to deliver.
But the newly developed Senator is designed for law enforcement and the border patrol, the company says, and raises questions about how helpful the vehicles will be when Ukrainian forces face a Russian attack in the east. of the country.
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“I think it’s of very limited use,” said historian David Bercuson, director emeritus of the Center for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.
Ukraine will benefit more from the gifts of some of Canada’s LAVs, similar Coyote reconnaissance vehicles, about 80 of which are in the process of being withdrawn from service, or newer TAPVs, say defense analysts and former commanders of the army. These are carriers of armored troops that will provide better protection, they say.
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Analysts argue that the donation of Senator vehicles is emblematic of this country’s well-intentioned military aid, but does not reach what Canada could and should provide to Ukraine.
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“We’ve been slow to be honest,” said Dean Milner, a retired commander-in-chief who led the Canadian Forces for a year in Afghanistan. “We can definitely give them more, I have no doubt … We’re not doing enough. We’re not getting them equipment and weapons fast enough.”
Experts say Canada’s contribution to Ukraine is also hampered by a chronic handicap of the country’s military: funding that is well below the two percent of GDP recommended by NATO and has left our own army and other services with limited equipment supplies.
The Canadian Forces, for example, have no anti-aircraft systems to talk about, although Ukraine desperately needs those weapons, and the anti-tank rocket launchers Carl Gustav that Canada donated are a 50-year-old obsolete technology, Milner said.
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“That’s the reality,” Bercuson said. “If you drop your military, you don’t have many apples to pull out of the tree.”
But the government argues that it is in fact meeting what Ukraine requires on the battlefield.
Defense Secretary Daniel Minden’s press secretary Anita Anand declined to answer a question about whether the government is considering donating some of the coyotes that will soon be eliminated. But he said Ottawa is focusing on “addressing Ukraine’s most urgent defense needs,” the country said in forums such as last Monday’s meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group.
“As we announce more aid to Ukraine, we will continue to respond to requests from the Ukrainian government,” Minden said.
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Anand recently revealed that Canada was providing Ukraine with 20,000 standard 155mm artillery rounds of NATO artillery cartridges, in addition to the shells it had previously provided and four M-777 shells, one of the most advanced artillery cannons. Of the world.
Two Senator APC of Canadian manufacture and construction are being delivered to Ukraine. Photo of Roshel
The government also provides up to 4,500 M72 rocket launchers, 7,500 hand grenades, rifles and other small arms, 1.5 million small arms ammunition cartridges, drone cameras, personal protective equipment and access to satellite imagery. · High resolution bed. The Liberal budget spent $ 500 million on military aid, in addition to assistance provided at the beginning of the war.
Senators are a new entrant to the armored personnel carrier market. Mississauga-based Roshel Defense Solutions describes them as relatively light and maneuverable, with protection from small arms fire and some mines. Its use is cited by police SWAT teams.
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Vehicles can be useful for transporting troops to later areas or for evacuating civilians, providing protection at least from shrapnel, if not a direct hit, said Milner, who has a history as an armored officer.
But, “right away, they’re not a front-line vehicle,” he said. “Do not hit this vehicle near the front line.”
Senators will be helpful to Ukrainian police and “not so good to the military,” said David Fraser, a retired divisional general who led the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during the historic Medusa Operation in Kandahar. “But in war, you take what you have.”
They definitely offer less protection than the LAV or other armored cars now used by the Canadian military, said David Perry of the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs. But at a time when Ukrainian forces are killing 50 soldiers a day on the Donbas battlefields, they would be useful compared to the possible alternative: civilian vans or cars, he said.
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Will Ukraine benefit from a donation of abandoned coyotes, some of which are said to be intended to be used as decoration outside the halls of the Legion?
These are “good vehicles and have good operational capabilities,” but they would need a lot of spare parts and maintenance, Fraser said.
“The logistical queue compared to its capacity is a compensation that only the Ukrainians could respond to if they want to use them.”
Milner agreed that the coyotes are in the final stage. Donating part of Canada’s LAV stock or new TAPV armored personnel carriers could be more beneficial, he said. The retired general said that the Canadian Forces gave the Afghan army seven TAPVs, which are presumably now in the hands of the Taliban.
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Bercuson suggested that Canada consider handing over several of the Leopard tanks it bought during the involvement of forces in Afghanistan and are now largely unused. On the other hand, transporting them to Eastern Europe quickly and training Ukrainians to use complex machines can be too challenging, Perry said.
The bottom line is that Canada, despite its modestly equipped armed forces, still has weapons and other equipment to deliver, Milner said. He sometimes wonders if NATO should also cross a line it has so far promised to avoid: get involved on the ground in the war against Russia.
“I’m sorry we’re not there,” the retired general said. “As a soldier, it’s hard to watch because they do it on their own.”
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