"Wumms not heard": Lambrecht has to take Puma for "breakdown tanks" - crisis meeting today

Created: 12/19/2022 10:31 am

By: Franziska Schwarz

Defense Secretary Christine Lambrecht (SPD) © John MacDougall/AFP

The Bundeswehr has long hoped for an operational new infantry fighting vehicle.

In view: the "Puma" model.

But now the disappointment is great.

Berlin – Christine Lambrecht has already received malice in some annual reviews of 2022.

The focus was sometimes heavily on manicures and heels.

However, there was no potential relevant point of criticism, simply because it only appeared on the agenda in mid-December: the breakdown series with the Bundeswehr infantry fighting vehicle "Puma".

A "total failure", according to the judgment of the fourth weekend in Advent.

This Monday (December 19), the SPD Defense Minister and representatives of the Bundeswehr and the armaments industry want to discuss how to proceed.

German "breakdown tank" Puma: Lieutenant General Mais optimistic

The Puma infantry fighting vehicle failed completely during Bundeswehr exercises for participation in the new NATO intervention force "Very High Readiness Joint Task Force" (VJTF).

The combat vehicle developed and produced by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH had previously made headlines as a "breakdown tank".

The inspector of the army, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, officially announced on Sunday (December 18) that the Puma "had proven to date to be increasingly reliable in terms of operational readiness".

At the moment there is an extensive inventory.

"Puma" breakdown: CDU General Secretary Czaja calls for Chancellor Scholz

CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja has now asked Olaf Scholz to act: "The Chancellor must take care of the matter," he said in the Monday edition of "Frühstart" on RTL / ntv.

The problems with the Puma are "uncomfortable and embarrassing" and need to be dealt with quickly, preferably this week

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Union parliamentary group manager Thorsten Frei now sees damage to trust in NATO after the incident.

Against the background of the Ukraine war, it is important that the alliance partners can rely on the German weapon systems, the CDU politician said in an interview with SWR-Aktuell on Monday.

Network reactions to "Puma" series of breakdowns: "Call with Adidas"

Lambrecht is now sure of malice: "Right this morning she wants to call Adidas about an alternative to Puma," tweeted a German user.

From a higher level: "Perhaps one or the other in the ministry hasn't heard the boom yet," said FDP defense politician - and partner in the traffic light coalition - Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann to SWR on Sunday.

"This is a highly technical tank that we need now":

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The establishment of the VJTF Rapid Reaction Force goes back to resolutions made at the NATO summit in Wales in September 2014.

The force is part of an action plan in response to the Ukraine conflict that has been smoldering since 2014.

"We are the spearhead of NATO from January 1, 2023," warned Strack-Zimmermann on SWR.