Status: 01/02/2023 4:59 pm
After the total breakdown of the “Puma”, 17 of the 18 tanks were repaired, according to the manufacturer. Almost all damage was insignificant. Criticism comes from the Union and the Greens, who complain about the slowness of investigations.
Almost all “Puma” armored vehicles that failed during target practice were repaired. “Almost all the damage was insignificant,” a spokesman for manufacturer Rheinmetall told the dpa news agency.
17 out of 18 vehicles lead again. A comprehensive repair was only required on one of the vehicles that had a cable fire.
Deployment plan of the “Puma” tank
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said there was a state of affairs on the damage but did not provide any precise information. Based on this, a plan will be drawn up with everyone involved on how the “Puma” “could also be used in long-term combat conditions”. This will certainly take a few more days, the spokesperson said.
After 18 of the 18 deployed armored vehicles failed during a firing exercise, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht pulled the emergency brake and removed the “Puma” from a NATO duty in the VJTF Rapid Reaction Force. German soldiers reported to be ready for action are now equipped with the old “Marder” infantry fighting vehicle.
Union criticizes slow education
So far, questions about the seriousness of the technical problems or whether there were operational or maintenance errors have remained unanswered. The “Puma” armored vehicle was only declared combat-ready in 2021 and is being jointly built by armaments companies Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).
The Union in the Bundestag chided Lambrecht for, in its opinion, slow clarification of recent infantry fighting vehicle failures. “The owner of command and command seems more important to the Christmas holidays themselves than finally cleaning and tidying,” said Union faction defense policy spokesman Florian Hahn (CSU), the “world.” “If you are wondering about the current shortcomings in the Bundeswehr, then you can say: the fish stinks from the head.” The minister broke her own promise to create transparency as quickly as possible.
Greens want more transparency
Hahn asked the ministry about the current situation and the results of an announced comprehensive assessment of the situation – no response, as he put it. He doubts that the sector is being blamed unilaterally: “The minister was obviously completely wrong in the initial diagnosis”.
After the opposition, the Greens also called for faster clarification and more transparency towards the Bundestag. “Having a plan is good. However, we would have liked to know very soon what the problem was – and not have to pick up bits and pieces from the troops and the press,” said Sara Nanni, leader of the Greens’ parliamentary group on the defense committee, the “taz”.