Germany's defence ministry says examinations of the 18 Puma infantry fighting vehicles that failed during a combat exercise in December show mainly minor and medium damage.
In some cases, the damage was more serious, the ministry told members of parliament on Wednesday in a classified statement, which was made available to dpa in Berlin. The ministry "continues to assess the SPz Puma as a technologically-advanced weapon system", it continued.
The infantry fighting vehicle "undoubtedly has very promising performance data and the ability to provide the troops with effective superiority in combat," the document added.
However, it does strike a note of caution. "For a system suitable for war, this superiority of effectiveness must go hand in hand with robustness and reliability in deployment and operation."
The assessment also said that experience to date has shown that this highly complex weapon system in its current state of design can only be operated with a closely interlinked technical-logistical concept involving troops, army maintenance logistics, project management and industry.
