200th Puma IFV shipped to Bundeswehr
Rheinmetall has shipped the 200th Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) for the German military, the company announced on 5 June.
The vehicle will be received by the Bundeswehr’s force integration organisation in Munster, Lower Saxony.
The Puma IFV is produced by Projekt System & Management (PSM), a 50:50 joint venture between Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmannin. The company will also be responsible for providing subsequent in-service support. Each of the two partners is responsible for manufacturing half of the vehicles on order; this is the 100th Puma manufactured by Rheinmetall.
Delivery of all 342 combat vehicles to Germany, which commenced in 2015, is scheduled for completion in 2020. In addition to the IFVs the Bundeswehr has also taken delivery of eight driver training vehicles.
The Puma vehicle is designed to provide soldiers with battlefield lethality, mobility, C2 and situational awareness. The Puma has advanced fire power and network-enabled capabilities. The compact IFV can accommodate nine soldiers and can be airlifted into the theatre of operations in an A400M military transport plane.
PSM is also working to expand the vehicle’s capabilities, including undertaking development of the new 'turret-independent secondary weapon system' which will enable the use of non-lethal munitions, as well as installation of advanced visualisation technology and displays, and improving training options.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
US Army seeks nearly $900 million to accelerate development and acquisition of CUAS capabilities
The branch plans to speed up the building and procurement of kinetic and non-kinetic systems for fixed, semi-fixed and on-the-move operations.
-
Borsuk IFV programme marks turning point for Poland’s armoured modernisation
The Borsuk vehicles are to replace the Soviet-designed BMP-1 as the Polish military’s main tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).
-
DroneShield nets largest order ever with $40 million European CUAS contract
The package of three standalone follow-on contracts makes this the largest contract won by the Australian company and larger than its total 2024 revenue.