Fixing the problems with Germany’s eco-friendly Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) will cost billions of euros, the country’s government has admitted.
Initial estimates drawn up by the defence ministry indicated that making the Puma class of vehicle “fully operational” would cost somewhere in the region of €700 million.
One of the key reasons behind the retrofit was the machine’s poor reliability. Problems with the eco-friendly fire extinguishers it was previously fitted with prompted scandal in 2022.
According to a report by Der Spiegel, the German Court of Auditors believed this figure to be too low and that the vehicles would require an additional €2.6 billion to be fully retrofitted.
The explanation for the poor initial estimate, it added, is that the ministry underestimated the retrofits needed to make the vehicle ready for combat.
It is the latest scandal to hit the Puma IFV in recent years, with it coming under fire in the German press in December 2022 after it performed poorly during a military exercise.
All the 18 Pumas deployed during the test broke down, with one having to be written off entirely due to the use of what was described as an eco-friendly fire extinguisher fitted to the vehicle.
According to news outlet Bild, the new extinguisher — which used biodegradable powder instead of CO2 gas — was on the vehicle and designed to extinguish any fires.
Yet the powder employed then reportedly entered sensitive parts of the IFV, including the engine, rendering it unusable.
The publication reported that the only way for the vehicle to be returned to service would be for it to be completely disassembled, and for every individual part to be cleaned.
The scandal was one of the final straws for then-defence minister Christine Lambrecht, who resigned her position in January 2023.
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