The modern combat vehicle several times turned out to be a total failure on the training ground.
(Photo: imago images/Sven Eckelkamp)
Berlin According to Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), the failure of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle is a “major setback” for the modernization of the armed forces and Germany’s alliance obligations. The Bundeswehr will now carry out its tasks as part of the so-called NATO spearhead VJTF with the almost 50-year-old Marder-type infantry fighting vehicle, as a ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Further Puma armored personnel carriers should only be ordered when the tanks already in use can be successfully retrofitted. Lamprecht announced on Monday that there would be no second batch until the vehicle proved to be stable.
Actually, the Puma is supposed to replace the Marder, of which the first specimens were put into service in the 1970s. But there were problems with the weapon system from the start, which has been gradually introduced to the troops since 2015. For example, at first it was not possible to keep in touch with the infantrymen once they had left the tank.
Bundeswehr: 18 Puma infantry fighting vehicles failed during exercises
In view of the management tasks in the NATO spearhead, which Germany will take over in the coming year, the Federal Ministry of Defense decided to retrofit 42 Pumas first. One of the new requirements that the industry was supposed to meet was, for example, being able to fire while driving with the new Mells anti-tank system.
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In March of last year, the Bundeswehr leadership ruled that the retrofitted Pumas for the VJTF are operational. However, there were now significant problems during operations on training and firing ranges, which led to the failure of 18 armored personnel carriers.
The problem with the Puma tanks should be resolved before the end of this year
The commander of the 10th Panzer Division, Major General Ruprecht von Butler, wrote to the Bundeswehr leadership and the Ministry of Defense. He also reports to Panzergrenadierbrigade 37, which leads the VJTF’s multinational land forces in 2023.
The NATO spearhead is a group of troops that, in the event of a crisis, can be deployed within a few days to areas of operation within the Alliance.
Defense Minister Lambrecht held talks on Monday with, among others, Inspector General Eberhard Zorn, Army Inspector Alfons Mais, Major General von Butler and representatives of the defense industry. The failed tanks are to be extensively examined after their return from the training areas in the home bases. Lambrecht said the analysis should be completed by the end of next week.
Read more about the Bundeswehr, NATO and Rheinmetall here:
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the Puma is a “highly complex system”. At the end of November, the budget committee of the Bundestag approved the funds for the procurement of 600,000 rounds of machine cannon ammunition for the Puma – also to ensure the combat stocks for the VJTF.
At the beginning of December, the budget committee approved a good one billion euros from the Bundeswehr special fund for the retrofitting of further Puma tanks. However, the MPs emphasized that the planned purchase of additional Pumas would only be an option for them if all the tanks that had already been delivered had been converted and were operational.
The Minister of Defense does not want to order new tanks until the Puma’s problems are solved.
(Photo: dpa)
The criticism from Parliament was “completely justified,” stressed Lambrecht. There will be no order for a second batch of Puma tanks until the vehicle proves stable.
Inspector General Zorn tweeted that everything was being done to quickly restore the Pumas’ operational readiness. “Together with specialists from the armaments industry, we will immediately start assessing the damage.” Germany will fulfill its NATO alliance obligations.
According to a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense, even the elderly martens still meet the NATO requirements. The Bundeswehr still has around 340 of the tanks itself, and other decommissioned tanks are stockpiled by industry. Defense Minister Lambrecht also justified the refusal to deliver Marder to Ukraine by saying that the Bundeswehr could not do without any of the tanks.
More: Bundestag approves projects worth billions for the Bundeswehr.