After the total failure of 18 "Puma" armored personnel carriers during an exercise, the Bundeswehr Association sounds the alarm. Germany must finally give priority to the armament projects of the land forces, demands association head Wüstner. Because "deterrence and defense require forces that win in the event of a dispute".
After the series of breakdowns in the "Puma" infantry fighting vehicle, the Bundeswehr Association called for a stronger focus on the land forces. "We finally need land forces again for national and alliance defense that deserve their name, because deterrence and defense require forces that win in the event of a dispute," said chairman André Wüstner to the newspapers of the Funke media group. This can only succeed with weapon systems that remain operational under all conditions. Therefore, the Ministry of Defense must focus on the land forces.
"In the past, due to the underfunding of the defense budget, there was no focus on the army's armament projects," said Wüstner. This is now taking revenge. The infantry fighting vehicle "Puma" was completely out of action during exercises of the Bundeswehr for participation in the NATO intervention force VJTF (Very High Readiness Joint Task Force) next year. During training with 18 combat vehicles, the operational readiness dropped to zero within a few days, reported the "Spiegel". According to the report, the electronics of the high-tech tanks in particular are vulnerable.
The "Puma" armored personnel carrier, which was plagued by numerous technical problems, was only declared combat-ready last year. The combat vehicle developed and produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS) had previously made headlines as a "breakdown tank". The Puma replaces the older Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which has meanwhile been modernized several times and is still in service with the Bundeswehr.
