Undoubtedly, the Puma is one of the most remarkable armoured infantry fighting vehicle programmes
today. Apart from its superior technologies, it differs from its counterparts in use with
its different concept. Like any newborn, the Puma has some weaknesses. Evaluations on its
superiorities and weaknesses may provide important clues for armoured infantry fighting vehicles
in the future. As the Weapon Detective, we are investigating what the Puma tells us.
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The Puma is the fruit of the Neue Gepanzerte Plattformen, shortly NGP Project initiated
by the German Army in the mid-1990s. The Project aimed to design a common base tracked vehicle
which would have different models such as infantry fighting vehicle, personnel carrier,
and weapon carrier. The German general staff wanted a vehicle
that provides similar ballistic protection to tanks.
Until those years, it was generally considered sufficient for tracked armoured vehicles to
be resistant to 14.5mm in front and 7.62mm armour-piercing ammunition on the sides.
Protection against landmines and IEDs was not on the agenda as it is today.
However, it would be wrong to see the Puma as a pioneering in this field.
For many years, Israel has been successfully using and modifiying the chassis of the T-55
and Centrioun tanks into heavy amoured personnel carriers.
In addition, MRAPs had been serving for a long time, especially in the south of Africa.
But, until then, NATO armies' interest in such vehicles remained at an academic level.
Even, the US Army began to show interest in vehicles with low ballistic protection and
high air transportability at the same dates, due to the changing military perceptions with
the end of the First Cold War. Many experts around the world advocated this
new concept and many articles were published stating that active protection systems will
replace passive armour. In this environment, it was really interesting that Germany decided
to work on a vehicle with high ballistic protection. Yet, it was seen in the first studies that
the new vehicle would have a weight between 55 and 70 tons if it remained within the specified
ballistic protection criteria. Producing such a vehicle would entail huge costs.
Also, although Germany did not find the concept feasable like an unarmoured armoured vehicle,
it agreed with the USA about air transportability. Therefore, it was decided that the new vehicle
will have a modular structure. In this way, the vehicle, which would be capable of being
transported by the A400M, could be equipped with additional armour in a short time and
would be able to provide high ballistic protection. Within the scope of this project, two leading
land system companies of Germany, Krauss Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall, started to work together
and founded a joint compnay. The five pre-production vehicles were delivered
in 2006 for trials. According to initial plan, the serial production order was supposed to
be confirmed in 2007, but was postponed to 2009 due to technical problems on its transmission
and running gear. At the beginning of the programme, Germany
had planned to order 405 Pumas. However, technical problems were not yet overcome. For this reason,
by 2012, it was decided to be delivered ten Pumas whose availability will only be tested
and improved if necessary. The first two serial production models of
the Puma were delivered in 2010. With the increase in costs as a result of
all these delays, Berlin decided to reduce the number of vehicles to be supplied to 350
in 2012. After eliminating some defects in the vehicle,
in 2015, the Puma officially entered service with the German Army.
The Puma's three-man crew consists of a commander, gunner and driver. The vehicle can also carry
six infantires. It has two protection levels. Protection level A is the basic vehicle which
has 31.45 tons combat weight. The combat weight of the Protection level C configuration is
43 tons. Puma is 7.6 meters long, 3.9 meters wide, and 3.6 meters high. Thanks to the 1088
horsepower MTU 892 Ka-501 engine, the vehicle can reach 70 kilometer per hour. Its maximum
road range is 600 kilometers. The main gun, the 30mm Mk 30-2/ABM and the 5.56mm MG4 auxiliary
machine gun, are housed in the remote controlled weapon station.
The basic vehicle can be transported by the A400M.
In protection level A, it is frontally protected against RPGs and 30mm ammunitions.
In this configuration Puma can provide all around protection against 14.5mm ammunitions
the vehicle can withstand against against landmines containing explosive equivalent
10 kilograms of TNT. In Protection level C, the vehicle is equipped
with an additional armour plate weighing approximately 11.5 tons. The additional armour package can
be integrated onto Puma in 3 to 4 hours in field conditions. Thanks to this package,
the Puma becomes resistant to 30mm ammunition all around, while the roof armour is able
to withstand artillery or mortar bomblets. Although some sources claim that Puma's front
armour is resistant to 120mm ammunition, this information is unrealistic.
In addition to passive protection, the vehicle is supported by the MUSS soft kill active
proection system. This 360-degree-effective system, when its laser and radar warning systems
detect a potential threat, makes it difficult to detect the vehicle by electro-optic sensors
by launching multispectrum smoke grenades. It is also considered that the Puma will be
equipped with a hard kill active protection system in the future.
In order to reduce the infrared signature, exhaust gases are mixed with fresh air and
released into the atmosphere. Also the vehicle has a design which reduces
its radar and infrared signature. The originally planned Protection level B
was dropped because the Puma also complies with the rail loading dimension in Protection
level C. In order to have a similar mobility with the
Leopard 2 main battle tanks, the Puma is equipped with an engine of approximately 1100 horsepower.
Also it is equipped with the hydropneumatic suspensions. However, the tests showed that
the vehicle needs some improvement on the transmission to achieve this goal.
In addition, the number of road wheels, which is five in pre-production models, has been
increased to six in mass production models to increase mobility.
Thanks to the independent commander's periscope, Puma has hunter killer capability.
Its remote controlled weapon station is supported by an advanced stabilization system. The turret
automatically angages itself with the target and the gunner can fight it while the commander
searches for other targets. The Mk 30-2/ABM gun can fire 30mm programmable ammunition
which offer high efficiency against the enemy troops hiding behind the walls and trenches,
by bursting within a determined distance. It was understood in a short time that the
5.56mm secondary gun was insufficient to provide the expected firepower. Therefore, it was
decided to replace the MG4 with a 7.62mm MG5 machine gun in the future.
In addition, the Spike LR anti-tank missiles will be integrated onto the Puma in the future.
These missiles have an effective range of 4,000 meters and can be used in "Fire and
Forget" or "Fire and Observe" modes. The twin-launcher Spike LR is adapted to the side of the turret.
The integration of the anti-tank missile onto the vehicle is expected to take up to five
years. The Puma is the first tracked armoured vehicle
designed based on a new concept for Europe. For this reason, there were many difficulties
in the development process and it was naturally exposed to many criticisms.
The vehicle can only be transported in protection level A by the A400M military transport aircraft.
In standart use, three basic configuration Pumas and three protection level C kit are
transpoted by four A400Ms. Therefore, its transportaion cost is one third
higher than its predecessor, the Marder. In addition, there is the effort for disassembly
and assembly of the modules. Another disadvantage that occurs in this case is that a Puma in
Protection level A configuration can reach full combat capacity after 3 to 4 hours of
operation after being transported from the air to the mission area.
Delays have increased the programme and unit costs well above expectations.
For Germany, where military spending has brought about a major political debate since the Second
World War, this cost increase is more of a problem than other countries.
Germany's desire to get rid of the militarist appearance, which has been going on for almost
75 years, also creates some bureaucratic obstacles that are not found in many other countries.
For example, according to German law, the Puma must have a design suitable for pregnant
soldiers. Naturally, the first question that will come to mind is what a pregnant soldier
is doing in the conflict zone or military drill. Attempting to meet such a strange criterion
brings with it additional costs. Due to its innovative design, Puma is an expensive
system, making it difficult to find new international customers. It is also more difficult to find
a country that will prefer a more expensive vehicle, as it is suitable for pregnant soldiers.
As the debate on whether the Puma is suitable for pregnant soldiers, a more interesting
problem remains. The interior of the vehicle is suitable for
soldiers only 1.84 meters tall and for crew members 1.91 meters tall. As you know, Germans
are tall people according to the world average. According to a study conducted in 2018, only
86 percent of the soldiers in the German mechanized infantry units are within the height limitation
that can serve in this vehicle. The same research also revealed that 2 percent of the current
vehicle personnel would not be able to work in the Puma.
Already in 2013 there was a list of defects with almost 1000 positions, which showed many
problems in the project. Due to the various change requests during development, there
are still delays in the production of full operational readiness even for vehicles that
have already been delivered. Therefore, the Pumas are expected to become fully operational
only in 2023 or 2025. The cost of all necessary retrofits is estimated at up to 4 billion
euros. As a result of Berlin's efforts to reduce
defense spending for many years, it is known that the German Army has had major problems
in spare parts recently. This is a big problem for a new system, such as Puma, that has not
been saved from infancy. Even Germany's decision to supply 350 Puma
orders only 200 Protection level C kits shows that bigger problems may be experienced in
the future. As you know, the modular structure, which is based on additional armour packages,
offers a great advantage as it allows a vehicle damaged in conflict environment to return
to its duty in a short time. However, given the current orders, it can be seen that there
will not be enough kits for a Puma to be re-equipped with a second armour package. This eliminates
the advantage of the vehicle. The problems experienced in the Puma Programme
are not a big surprise for current stiaition in the world. The uncertainty, budget cuts
and political complexities that started with the end of the First Cold War also affected
the fate of this vehicle. However, it was important that Germany was embarked on such
an adventure at a time when a significant part of the world was pursuing a strange idea
like an unarmored armored vehicle. The time confirmed the Germans. Many important programs
that have been conducted in the last 10 years, are for developing vehicles over 30 tons.
Today, when the Second Cold War is rising, Puma has the potential to attract more countries.
If it reaches more customers, the vehicle can also overcome the cost problems it is
experiencing now. Despite all the troubles, considering the
inspiration he gave to many new armored vehicle programs, it would not be wrong to say that
the Puma is successful. Thanks for watching our new video. And please
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