The Puma is a German infantry fighting vehicle (Schützenpanzer or short SPz) developed by PSM Projekt System Management, a joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme.The Puma programme was formerly known as the Igel and the Neuer Schuetzenpanzer (NsPz). The Puma was designed to replace the aging Marder IFVs currently in service with the Bundeswehr.
Replacement began in 2010 and is scheduled for completion by 2020. Mass production began on 6 July 2009.
Development
The Puma started as a follow-up project to the German mid-1990s "NGP" project (Neue Gepanzerte Plattformen, "New Armored Platforms"). Its aim was to collect ideas for a common base vehicle that could be used for a variety of tasks including that of the APC, IFV, air defense and replacing and assisting the MBT in the frontline combat role. The NGP project was ended in 2001.
The lessons learned were incorporated into the new tactical concept named neuer Schützenpanzer ("new IFV") in 1998. In 2002, the German Army (Heer) placed an order for the delivery of five pre-production vehicles and their logistics and training services at the end of 2004. The first prototype vehicle and systems demonstrator was rolled out in December 2005 and delivered in May 2006. On 8 November 2007, a budget of €3 billion to acquire 405 Pumas (excluding the five Pumas that had already been delivered to the German Army for trials) was agreed upon.
On 6 December 2010, the first two serial vehicles were handed over to the German Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffungand final delivery is expected for 2020. The Puma vehicles are to replace the Rheinmetall Landsysteme Marder 1 infantry fighting vehicles which entered service in 1971 with the German Army and will soon reach the end of operational life.
The Puma successfully completed cold tests in Norway in 2012. In August 2013, two Pumas were airlifted to the United Arab Emirates for hot weather tests. Trials included suitability for hot weather operations, firing and driving maneuvers in desert conditions, as well as firepower and mobility evaluations. During the trials, the temperature profiles inside the vehicle were measured, then compared to the ambient temperature.
On 13 April 2015, the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) granted authorization of use of the Puma IFV. This began a program to "train the trainers" on the first seven vehicles and additional ones until the end of the year, when a training center will be set up to put Panzer Grenadiers of mechanized infantry companies through a three-month course to familiarize them with their Pumas. The Puma officially entered service with the German military on 24 June 2015. About 350 of these machines will be delivered. Initially it was planned to purchase 405 new IFVs. However later this number was reduced due to limited funding. Currently it is the largest German army procurement programe.
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Design
The Puma, while externally not very different from existing IFVs, incorporates a number of advances and state-of-the-art technologies. The most obvious of these is the incorporated ability to flexibly mount different armour (see below for details). Another feature is the compact, one-piece crew cabin that enables direct crew interaction ("face-to-face"; like replacing the driver or gunner in case of a medical emergency) and minimizes the protected volume. The cabin is air conditioned, NBC-proof with internal nuclear and chemical sensors and has a fire suppressing system using non-toxic agents. The engine compartment has its own fire extinguishing system. The only compromise of the otherwise nearly cuboid cabin is the driver station, located in a protrusion in front of the gunner, in front of the turret.
One measure to achieve the one-piece cabin is the use of an unmanned, double-asymmetrical turret (see photo): while slightly off-center turrets are common in IFVs, the Puma's turret is on the left-hand side of the vehicle, while the main cannon is mounted on the right side of the turret and thus on the middle axis of the hull when the turret is in the forward position.
The outer hull (minus the turret) is very smooth and low to minimize bullet traps and the general visual signature. The whole combat-ready vehicle in its base configuration will be air transportable in the Airbus A400M tactical airlifter. Its 3+6 persons crew capability is comparable to other vehicles of comparable weight like the US American M2 Bradley IFV, the same as in the Marder, but smaller than the 3+8 of the CV9030 and CV9035.
Armament
The vehicle is armed with a remotely controlled weapon station, developed by Kraus-Maffei Wegmann, which is fitted with a dual feed Mauser 30mm MK 30-2 cannon. Rheinmetall is responsible for the integration of the Mauser cannon and the ammunition handling system. The MK 30-2, which is in production for the Spanish Pizarro and Austrian Ulan IFV, has a rate of fire of 700 rounds a minute and a range of up to 3km.
The cannon fires 30mm APFSDS-T (armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot - tracer) rounds with a muzzle velocity of 1,385m/sec.
The rounds, developed by RWM Schweiz AG (formerly Oerlikon Contraves Pyrotec) and being qualified in Switzerland for deployment in the Swiss and Austrian armed forces, have entered volume production. The round is not fitted with a depleted uranium penetrator and is non-toxic.
The MK 30-2 cannon also fires the FAPIDS-T (frangible armour-piercing incendiary discarding sabot - tracer) round that is deployed against hard and soft targets.
A new round, the 30mm air burst munition (ABM) by RWM Schweiz AG is undergoing qualification trials with the German Army for use on the Puma.
The main gun is backed by a Heckler& Koch HK MG4 Light Machine Gun in a coaxial turret fitting. 2,000 x 5.56mm rounds of ammunition are afforded this weapon which has seen service 2005. The machine gun is utilized when the 30mm canon is deemed overkill.
The ABM round (173mm long, 30mm diameter) contains an electronic timer, an ejection charge and 135 cylinder-shaped tungsten alloy bars or projectiles. The electronic timer is programmed by inductive coupling through a device installed in the muzzle of the cannon. The timer initiates the ejection charge which releases and disperses the tungsten projectiles before impact with the target.
Eurospike is offering the Spike-LR fire-and-forget anti-tank missile for the German Army requirement for a guided missile system to arm the Puma armoured vehicle. In December 2008, a contract was signed between PSM and the German Ministry of Defence for the integration of the Spike missile system on Puma vehicles.
Protection
The Puma was designed to accommodate additional armor, initially planning to offer three protection classes which are wholly or partly interchangeable. Protection class A is the basic vehicle, at 31.5 metric tons combat-ready weight air transportable in the A400M. Protection class C consists of two large side panels that cover almost the whole flanks of the vehicle and act as skirts to the tracks, a near-complete turret cover and armor plates for most of the vehicle's roof. The side panels are a mix of composite and spaced armor. It adds about 9 metric tons to the gross weight. Originally, there was also a protection class B designed for transport by rail. However, it became obvious that class C lies within the weight and dimension limits for train/ship transportation, thus class B was scrapped.
The Puma is protected by AMAP composite armour, the AMAP-B module is used for protection against kinetic energy threats, while AMAP-SC offers protection against shaped charges.
The basic armour can resist direct hits from 14.5 mm Russian rounds, the most powerful HMG cartridge[11] in common use today (and up to twice as powerful as the western de facto standard .50 BMG cartridge).[12] The frontal armour offers protection against medium caliber projectiles and shaped charge projectiles.[13] In protection class C, the flanks of the Puma are up-armored to about the same level of protection as is the front, while the roof armor is able to withstand artillery or mortar bomblets.
The Pumas of the German Army will be equipped with a softkill system called Multifunktionales Selbstschutz-System (multifunction self protection system), MUSS, which is capable of defeating ATGMs.[14]
The whole vehicle is protected against heavy blast mines (up to 10 kg) and projectile charges from below, while still retaining 450 mm ground clearance. Almost all equipment within the cabin, including the seats, has no direct contact to the floor, which adds to crew and technical safety. All cabin roof hatches are of the side-slide type, which make them easier to open manually, even when they are obstructed by debris. The exhaust is mixed with fresh air and vented at the rear left side. Together with a special IR-suppressing paint, this aims at reducing the thermal signature of the IFV.
Another crew safety measure is that the main fuel tanks are placed outside of the vehicle hull itself, mounted heavily armored within the running gear carriers. While this may pose a higher penetration risk to the tanks, it is unlikely that both tanks will be penetrated at the same time, enabling the vehicle to retreat to a safer position in case of a breach. There is also a collector tank within the vehicle which acts as a reserve tank in case of a double tank breach.
Sensors and situational awareness
The Puma offers improvements in situational awareness. The fully stabilized 360° periscope (PERI) with six different zoom stages offers a direct glass optic link to either the commander or the gunner. Since this is an optical line it had to be placed in the turret center, one of the reasons why the main cannon is mounted off-center on the turret. Via an additional CCD camera the picture from this line can also be fed into the on-board computer network and displayed on all electronic displays within the vehicle. Besides that, the periscope offers an optronic thermal vision mode and a wide-angle camera with 3 zoom stages to assist the driver, as well as a laser range finder. The whole array is hunter-killer capable; the commander also has 5 vision blocks.
The gunner optics, which can be completely protected with a slide hatch, are mounted coaxially to the main gun. The gunner has a thermal vision camera and laser range finder (identical to those on the PERI) and an optronic day sight, rounded off with a vision- and a glass block. The driver has 3 of them, as well as an image intensifier and one display for optronic image feeds. Even the passenger cabin has a hatch and 3 vision blocks on the rear right side of the vehicle, one of them in a rotary mount. The rear cabin also has 2 electronic displays.
All in all, the Puma has an additional five external cameras at its rear in swing-mounts for protection while not in use. Apart from the glass optic periscope view directly accessible only by the commander and gunner (but indirectly via the CCD camera), all optronic picture feeds can be displayed on every electronic display within the vehicle. The provisions for the rear cabin enable the passengers to be more active than previously in assisting the vehicle crew either directly through the vision blocks and hatches, or by observing one or more optronic feeds. The whole crew has access to the onboard intercom.
Propulsion
Power for the Puma vehicle is supplied by an MTU V10 892 series diesel-fueled engine fitted in the front hull.
The engine outputs at 1,100 horsepower at 4,250 rpm and provides a top road speed of 70 km/h with an operational road range of 600 kilometers. The MTU 892 series is rated at 800kW which provides the Puma with a power-to-weight ratio of 25.4kW/t. Even at the 43 t maximum weight in protection class C, it has a higher kW/t ratio than the Leopard 2 MBT it is supposed to supplement. The vehicle is suspended atop a hydropneumatic suspension system which account for excellent inherent cross-county performance. The running gear is decoupled so the vehicle has low noise and vibration characteristics. Krauss Maffei Wegmann is responsible for the vehicle's hydropneumatic suspension system. The road wheels are asymmetrical, mounted closer to each other at the front. This is to counter the front-heavy balance, inevitable because of the heavy frontal armor as well as the engine and drive train which are also situated at the front. The 500mm-wide steel tracks made by Diehl are of new construction and lighter than previous designs.
Specifications
Weight 31.5 tonnes, 43 tonnes maximum weight with add-on armor
Length 7.4 m
Width 3.7 m (uparmored)
Height 3.6 m
Crew 3 + 6
Armor modular AMAP composite armour
Main armament
30 mm MK30-2/ABM autocannon 400 rounds
Secondary armament
5.56 mm HK MG4 machine gun 2,000 rounds
Spike LR anti-tank guided missile; 6-shot 76 mm grenade launcher
Engine MTU V10 892 diesel
800 kilowatts (1,100 hp) at 4,250 r/min
Power/weight 25.4 kW/tonne
Suspension hydropneumatic
Operational range
600 km
Speed 70 km/h