German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht sits in a Puma combating tank (Reuters)

Berlin:

The German authorities stated Monday it can pause purchases of latest Puma tanks after a mass breakdown throughout workouts, lamenting a “harsh setback” as Berlin seeks to overtake its navy. 

The armoured infantry autos — which have been speculated to type a part of Germany’s contribution to a NATO pressure — suffered issues that left all 18 of these within the workouts unfit for operations.

The breakdowns shone one other harsh highlight on Germany’s makes an attempt to modernise its ageing navy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“The latest failures of the Puma tanks are a harsh setback,” stated Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht in an announcement.

She ordered a probe into what went fallacious, and stated till the autos show “stable” there will not be any new orders. 

“Our troops must be able to rely on weapons systems that are robust and stable in combat,” Lambrecht added. 

The Pumas have been speculated to be prepared to be used in a NATO process pressure for fast deployments from January. 

Lambrecht stated that Germany would nonetheless fulfil its obligations in the direction of the alliance, and as a substitute of the Pumas would use ageing Marder tanks.

A defence ministry spokesman stated work was being performed at full pace on “damage assessment”, including there had been an “unusually high failure rate” with the tanks.

The navy has 350 Puma tanks, however solely 42 had been arrange for use with the NATO pressure. 

Berlin earlier this 12 months introduced plans to speculate 100 billion euros ($106 billion) to modernise its armed forces, casting apart a post-war reluctance to spend huge on its navy to face the risk from Russia. 

It can also be shopping for dozens of US-made F-35 fighter jets, however that challenge has run into issues, with the defence ministry elevating issues about delays and extra prices.

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