German Army to upgrade its Puma fighting vehicles

The German Armed Forces, or Bundeswehr, has outlined plans to upgrade its Puma infantry fighting vehicles.

According to a press release from Rheinmetall, Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has awarded Projekt System & Management GmbH (PSM), a joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall, an order to retrofit a further 143 Puma infantry fighting vehicles.

In doing so, the German government is exercising two options contained in the contract for retrofitting original Puma infantry fighting vehicles to the new S1 design status. This contract was signed in June 2021.

The order volume is in the region of €770 million.

By 2029, the key capabilities of firepower and command and control of all 143 Puma systems will be brought up to date. Exercising these options assures that every Puma in the Bundeswehr inventory will conform to the uniform S1 design status.

Among other things, the retrofit includes integration of high-resolution day- and night-capable camera systems, the MELLS multirole-capable lightweight guided missile system, and digital radio equipment.