On track: the prototypes of two tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) designs were unveiled in 2005 to meet national requirements in Germany and South Korea. Despite this the worldwide move toward the wheeled armoured fighting vehicle has gained further momentum. Taiwan rolled out a new wheeled prototype that could be followed by up to 1400 production examples.

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On track: the prototypes of two tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) designs were unveiled in 2005 to meet national requirements in Germany and South Korea. Despite this the worldwide move toward the wheeled armoured fighting vehicle has gained further momentum. Taiwan rolled out a new wheeled prototype that could be followed by up to 1400 production examples.

The significant recent trend launched by the VBCI and the Piranha IV however, and whether tracks or wheels are considered, is to design relatively lightweight hulls that are then dressed up with add-on armour. This enables the hull to be equipped a la carte, damaged elements to be changed and last but certainly not the least, armour to be upgraded as progress is made on protective materials.

Heavyweight Puma

The technology demonstrator for the German Army's new Puma was rolled out in Kassel on 20 December 2005 by Projekt System und Management (PSM), a 50:50-joint venture between Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Company trials are scheduled to continue until May 2006 when the

vehicle will be delivered to the army. Under the terms of a 350 million [euro] contract the demonstrator will be followed by five pre-production vehicles due for delivery between late 2006 and May 2007. The German government is expected in late 2007 to authorise the production of 410 Pumas, worth roughly 3.05 billion [euro], for delivery from 2009. The Puma will replace approximately 2100 Marder 1 IFVs, which entered service in 1971.

At the start of Puma development the German Army rejected two concepts that are shaping the US Army's Future Combat Systems: that improved situational awareness will reduce the need for conventional armour and that vehicles should weigh no more than 18 tonnes so they can be carried by C-130 tactical transport aircraft. The Puma is designed to be carried by the Airbus Military A400M strategic transport aircraft, which enables it to have the highest level of armour protection among the new generation of infantry fighting vehicles with a baseline weigh of 31.45 tonnes at Protection Level A (Airtransportable). This will protect against 14.5 mm attack and at least a ten-kilo landmine blast. If the threat warrants armour modules can be added to the hull and turret to provide Protection Level C (Combat) to defeat hand-held anti-tank weapons, 30 mm ammunition and top attack bomblets. In this configuration the Puma will weight about 41 tonnes. Tracks, their wheels and idlers come off as one module that also carries 450 litres of fuel.

The Puma will carry nine people: a driver, the commander and gunner seated side-by-side in the hull and six soldiers in the rear troop compartment. A remote controlled turret will be armed with the new Mauser Mk 30-2/ABM (Air Burst Munition) 30 mm dual-feed cannon and a 5.56 mm MG co-axial machine gun. Two hundred rounds of 30 mm ammunition, a combination of kinetic energy and ABM rounds, will be carried in the turret bustle and 500 rounds for the 5.56 mm machine gun.

Anticipating future upgrades the Puma's powerpack and suspension have been designed to accommodate a 30% growth in vehicle weight without having to be modified.

Dingo Pack Grows

In December 2005 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann signed a contract with the German B...

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