{"id":39208,"date":"2018-06-06T19:47:10","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T19:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/06\/germanys-impending-puma-panzer-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:09:28","slug":"germanys-impending-puma-panzer-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2018\/06\/06\/germanys-impending-puma-panzer-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany\u2019s impending Puma Panzer problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLOGNE, Germany \u2015 Federal auditors have flagged a coming chokepoint in the German military\u2019s armored formations, warning that fully equipping the Puma infantry fighting vehicle will take years longer than previously thought.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the program\u2019s bumpy progress and low availability rates, German ground forces should be prepared to use the predecessor tank, the 40-some-year-old Marder, beyond the envisioned replacement in 2024, they wrote.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warning is included in a recent report to lawmakers by the Bundesrechnungshof, an agency comparable to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The document is part of a series of short papers meant to support ongoing budget deliberations<\/a> in the Bundestag. The findings eventually will be made public, the agency said, but only once budget negotiations are complete.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrating all required features into the Puma, made by a consortium of Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, will take until 2029 if similar efforts of the past are any guide, according to the report.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparations for sustaining the Marder beyond its envisioned end of life in 2025 should include ensuring that enough spare parts are available. That has been a notorious problem for the German armed forces, wreaking havoc on readiness rates across the board in recent years.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\t