The technical problems with the infantry fighting vehicle “Puma” sparked a debate about the adequate equipment of the Bundeswehr. According to a media report, many of the 105 Panzerhaubitzen 2000 are not fully functional.
According to a media report, the majority of the Panzerhaubitze 2000 artillery pieces in the Bundeswehr’s inventory are currently not operational. As the “Bild” newspaper reports, citing a confidential paper from the Federal Ministry of Defense, the Bundeswehr can currently only use about one in three of these self-propelled howitzers.
According to the newspaper, the stock of Panzerhaubitzen 2000 is 105 copies as of December 2, 2022. There are currently 73 of them in the “army’s inventory” and their operational readiness is “around 50 percent”. This leaves about 36 operational self-propelled howitzers.
In addition, on December 2, a total of 18 self-propelled howitzers 2000 were in the “factory repair at the industry,” reports the “Bild” further from the document. According to the newspaper, it is unclear how many of the 36 operational weapon systems are among them. The Panzerhaubitze 2000 can shoot 30 to 40 kilometers depending on the ammunition used. Experts regard it as one of the most modern howitzers in the world and can fire up to ten shells per minute.
Serious problems with the “Puma” infantry fighting vehicle only became known on Sunday. During a Bundeswehr exercise, all 18 Puma infantry fighting vehicles deployed failed due to technical problems. The vehicles were supposed to be used from January for the VJTF, NATO’s fastest reaction force called the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force. There they are now to be replaced by tanks of the “Marder” type.
