The Bundeswehr’s “Puma” armored personnel carriers were increasingly having serious problems. They should soon be in action for NATO.
Berlin/Munich – Within a few days, operational readiness fell from 18 to zero: The German Bundeswehr encountered serious technical problems during exercises with Puma infantry fighting vehicles for NATO’s “spearhead”. During a training session, according to a report by the mirror no more Pumas usable. The magazine referred to a letter from the commander of the 10th Panzer Division, Major General Ruprecht von Butler, to the army leadership and the Ministry of Defence.
Panzerbrigade should actually be ready for action from the new year
According to information from the German Press Agency, the maneuver took place at the Panzer Troops’ target practice center. The letter has caused a stir in the Ministry of Defense since Friday, because the new breakdowns relate to vehicles in a special configuration with which Buttlar’s 37th Panzergrenadierbrigade is supposed to participate in the alliance’s VJTV (Very High Readiness Joint Task Force) force from the new year .
Of the mirror reports after reading the letter of a “total failure”. The last two “Pumas” still ready for action “on yesterday’s shooting day after an hour and a half with turret defects” also failed, the general wrote.
According to the report, the electronics of the high-tech tanks in particular are vulnerable
According to the report, the electronics of the high-tech tanks in particular are vulnerable, and there was even a serious cable fire in the driver’s compartment of one tank. The troops were already aware of the nature of the defects, the e-mail said, but they had “never occurred with this frequency before”. The systems were only moved on shooting ranges in the North German lowlands and were “not overused” there. According to the assessment of the foreman of the affected company, which he considers very credible, the General writes, it can be assumed that the company will only be fully operational again in three to four months.
It was only last year that the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, which was plagued by numerous technical problems, was declared fit for combat. The combat vehicle developed and produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS) had previously made headlines as a “breakdown tank”. (cgsc with dpa)
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