BW – Schützenpanzer Puma
Schützenpanzer Puma
The origins of the very inconsistent development of the Puma AIFV hark back to the beginning of the 1980s. After many years of preparations and development time, the two manufacturers KMW and Rheinmetall Landsysteme, plus the Projekt System und Management GmbH (PSM), presented the first two series vehicles to the then Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement on 06 December 2010. However, it took until 24 June 2015 for the Bundeswehr to receive its first Operational Level 1 Puma AIFV. The distribution of vehicles is managed by a fielding organisation in Munster, which received the Puma AIFV with series number 100 on 16 December 2016. Delivery of the remaining 242 AIFVs will take until 2020. The various versions of the Puma AIFV mostly differ in their radio equipment. The priority of the Puma on protection and air transportability in an Airbus A400M cargo aircraft had significant effects on the geometry and concept of the vehicle from the very beginning. Due to its modular protection concept, the Puma should be be air-transportable in an A400M. After transportation, the crew will be able to upgrade the vehicle mainly by applying ballistic protection. In this way, the vehicle will be protected against mines, RPG-7s and medium caliber kinetic-energy ammunition. Currently armament consists of the 30mm x 173 MK30-22/ABM automatic cannon, 5.56mm x 45 MG4 machine gun, MELLS anti-tank guided missile launcher with two ATGMs and the Active Self-Protection System with an IR-jammer, four sensor heads and the adjustable 76mm smokescreen dispenser system at the rear of the turret.
| Crew: | 3+6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Vehicle Weight: | 43,000kg | |
| Military Load Classification: | 48 | |
| Length: | 7.624m | |
| Width: | 3.955m | |
| Height: | 3.575m | |
| Ground Clearance: | 0.45m | |
| Grade: | 60% | |
| Slope: | 30% |
Download PDF file with sample photos
Publication about the SPz Puma
Yearbook – Armoured Vehicles of the Modern German Army 2018
Yearbook – Armoured Vehicles of the Modern German Army 2019
Yearbook – Armoured Vehicles of the Modern German Army 2020
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