All 18 vehicles used during target practice failed in December.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin By the end of this week, it should be clear why all 18 Puma infantry fighting vehicles deployed failed during a target practice in December. Defense Minister Christiane Lambrecht (SPD) set this deadline for industry. After that, she wants to decide how to proceed with the weapon system developed jointly by Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) in the Bundeswehr.
As the Handelsblatt learned from circles familiar with the events, 17 of the 18 defective tanks have now been repaired. In some cases, it was only minor damage that could be easily remedied. In some cases, there were also operating errors. A soldier tried to extinguish smoldering cables with a powder extinguisher, which led to major damage, sources said.
After the series of tank failures in December, the commander of the 10th Panzer Division, Major General Ruprecht von Butler, contacted Defense Minister Lambrecht. Reporting to the division is Panzergrenadierbrigade 37, which will play a key role in Germany’s leadership role in the NATO Task Force VJTF over the next year.
Actually, the Puma armored personnel carriers should also be used as part of the VJTF mission. After the series of breakdowns, the Ministry of Defense and the German Armed Forces initially decided to use the approximately 50-year-old Marder infantry fighting vehicle instead if necessary.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Lambrecht also suspended the planned modernization of the Pumas that had already been delivered to the Bundeswehr, even though the Defense Committee had already approved 850 million euros for this. The order for 50 additional Pumas was initially put on hold.
Army inspector is optimistic about the future of Puma infantry fighting vehicles
The Bundeswehr has a total of 350 of the vehicles, which are among the most modern armored personnel carriers in the world. Of these, 42 have the technical status that meets the requirements of the VJTF, including those that failed in December. The VJTF variant, which differs significantly from the basic version in details, has only been available to the army since the beginning of 2020. So the soldiers have only limited experience with the tanks so far.
The troops must be able to rely on weapon systems being robust and reliable in combat.
(Photo: dpa)
Before the series of breakdowns in December, the Puma, which the Inspector General of the German Armed Forces had certified in February 2021 as being tactically combat-ready, had proven to be largely reliable. During the deployment, there were “predominantly highs”, as in the penultimate round at the target practice center in September 2022, and “a few lows, as in December,” said the Army Inspector, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais.
Together with the industry, it was possible to successfully prepare the Puma for VJTF use. The retrofitting, combined with the troops’ increasing experience, gives reason to be optimistic that the Puma will prove its worth in the Bundeswehr. With the statements, Mais also reacted to reports that the Federal Audit Office had warned against purchasing additional Puma armored personnel carriers because the weapon system was not “technically mature”.
The Ministry of Defense recently said that the Puma would have to prove stable beyond the current repairs. The troops must be able to rely on the fact that weapon systems are robust and reliable even in combat.
A spokesman said on Wednesday that when the damage analysis is available, “everyone will bend over it together and see how it goes”. There may be a technical discussion with representatives from industry, the Bundeswehr and the ministry at the beginning of January.
More: NATO exercise in Lower Saxony – The Ukraine war is always in the back of your mind