Spiegel: the "culling" of German Puma infantry fighting vehicles for NATO special forces revealed the disadvantages of the German military-industrial complex NATO's high-alert forces were left without the German Puma infantry fighting vehicles promised to them, the German magazine Spiegel reports.
This "beauty and pride" of the German military-industrial complex turned out to be too difficult to handle.
Conclusions are drawn from the numerous technical problems that have arisen with the Puma BMP during shooting practice: The BMP will not yet be adopted by the NATO Joint High-Readiness Task Force. Further purchases of cars have also been suspended.
No more Puma infantry fighting vehicles will be purchased for the Bundeswehr. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht gave an order to temporarily stop further purchases. "Until the car proves its reliability, there will be no second round. The criticism coming from the parliament is absolutely justified," Lambrecht said.
"Our military must be confident that the weapons systems will function reliably and efficiently in combat. NATO can continue to count on us to fulfill our obligations towards the VJTF (Very High Joint Readiness Task Force — NATO's Joint High Readiness Task Force)," Lambrecht said. And then she added: "We included the Marder BMP in the planning even at the preparatory stages, and it turned out to be a reasonable decision." The VJTF is a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, that is, a NATO Joint High Readiness Task Force.
Lambrecht: Technical problems with Puma are a "serious setback"
According to the dpa news agency, the planned signing of an agreement on the purchase of new batches of infantry fighting vehicles has been postponed. Lambrecht: "The recent accidents of the Puma BMP are a serious setback."
Due to technical problems with the latest Puma infantry fighting vehicles, the Bundeswehr will participate in the VJTF with Marder models that have been in service for several decades. This was announced by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense. "At the previous exercises, we were sure that Puma performed well. Therefore, these numerous technical problems came as a surprise to us," he said.
As he further reported, on Monday morning Lambrecht held a meeting with the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Eberhard Zorn, the Secretary of State for Armaments, Benedikt Zimmer, and other officers. According to him, negotiations with representatives of the manufacturer will take place on Monday. "If we talk about our obligations under the VJTF, we will fulfill them, as planned, from January 1, but instead of "cougars" we will provide the Marder BMP," said the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr.
Last weekend, Spiegel reported on a letter from the commander of the 10th Armored Division. It said that of the 18 state-of-the-art Puma infantry fighting vehicles, none turned out to be combat-ready. These IFVs were intended for use as part of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force.
According to dpa reports, after the initial analysis, it was not possible to draw up a single picture of damage on the BMP. Problems arose both because of the wear of the gear rings, and because of the electronics. There is no official data yet.
Readers' comments:The_ Booklooker
I am surprised that the names of the responsible persons are not mentioned in the messages.
At the same time, I do not mean politicians. They are just known. I want to know the names of those who were responsible for the project at the industrial enterprise. Only complete information about the mistakes of specific people can have an effect. These people feel their impunity and therefore are not afraid of failures. This situation must change.
FridolinNow we need to test whether these IFVs will not prove themselves as reliable military equipment in good and dry weather, on flat terrain and with careful handling.
Manuka"If we talk about our obligations under the VJTF, we will fulfill them, as planned, from January 1, but instead of the requested "cougars" we will provide the Marder BMP," the Bundeswehr inspector tells us.
Ukraine was unlucky... Germany now needed her antiques herself.
Andre-VMjaYSc7gOf course, Ms. Lambrecht is not responsible for this case.
But I have a bad feeling that she will solve this problem quickly. He will simply kick her off to the manufacturer, thereby showing his incompetence. The deadlines will not be met. I can say that right now.
Christian-9DcPQf8ngIt is unclear why the Bundeswehr did not call the manufacturer's specialists at the first accidents, but instead stoically continued to work out the maneuver plan until the last Puma broke down.
However, it is good that the military did just that, now at least the state of affairs is visible.
LinkslenkerThe main problem, from my point of view, is not named.
The system of procurement of military equipment in the Bundeswehr is comparable in its effectiveness to some department in Ouagadougou in the country of Burkin_fasso, the former Upper Volta!
It is absolutely incomprehensible to me how, despite the huge costs of armament in Germany, we get such meager. Results. The idea that a "special fund" for the rearmament of the Bundeswehr will be planned by this team of amateurs without its preliminary reform and optimization takes my breath away.
The ModelistI don't understand why only politicians are held accountable.
It's sad, but our military-industrial complex can no longer offer high-quality weapons systems for either the Bundeswehr or NATO forces.
DerEinaegigeKoenigProbably, when developing the Puma complex, they wanted to do too much.
But when there is too much technology, the car breaks down more often. The United States, as part of its space program, spent $ 1 million to develop a ballpoint pen capable of writing in zero gravity, and the Russians use pencils. Sometimes the easiest way is better.
HansimWaldWhat can Lambrecht say now?
Mistakes were made by previous defense ministers. It was written on the T-online news portal that when designing this BMP, it was even possible to use it for transporting pregnant women. I just don't have the words.
DerBrunswicker53Many people wonder why Moscow does not use its new Armata tank in the Ukrainian campaign, but fights with tanks of the last century.
The Puma incident explains why this is happening. Highly complex electronic systems often fail under extreme conditions.
But it's still a shame that Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei specialists supply such low-quality products. The Ministry of Defense and its department for the purchase of military equipment are to blame in the second place. Madam Minister is just a politician, she has enough specialists at her disposal. They should be called to account immediately after the manufacturers.
