On Dec. 6, 2010, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) handed over the first two Puma infantry fighting vehicles to the BWB in Kassel for verification tests. The event marked the start for the contractual delivery of 405 ordered vehicles to the German armed forces.
Coming more than 30 years after Germany first fielded the Marder, manufacturers note that the Puma “is poised to significantly expand the Bundeswehr’s capabilities spectrum, providing it with an entirely new category of tactical vehicle.”
International Land Force Developments: The Netherlands
A camouflaged Royal Netherlands Army CV9035 NL with add-on armor. Dutch Ministry of Defense photo
While Germany looks to the new infantry fighting vehicle capabilities provided by Puma, the Netherlands is looking at enhancing the capabilities of its Dutch Infantry Fighting Vehicle CV9035, which had been procured as a replacement for the older YPR Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
The need for CV9035 lethality enhancements is driven in part by recent budget decisions that removed main battle tanks from Royal Netherlands Army inventories.
At the height of the Cold War, the Netherlands had almost 1,000 battle tanks serving as the backbone of the armed forces. However, post-Cold War reductions quickly saw the number of tanks reduced more than 90 percent, to a 2011 quantity of 60. Then, on April 14, 2011, Defense Minister Hans Hillen announced a number of significant defense cutbacks, including the disbanding of the last two tank battalions of the Royal Netherlands Army.
In late May 2011 ceremonies at the Bergen-Hohne firing range, the Dutch said farewell to the last of their Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks.
The removal of the Leopard 2A6 created what seems to be a capability gap against armored target threats. Since the CV9035 provides a larger (35 mm) cannon than the older (25 mm) YPR, developers are reportedly exploring ammunition options that might help close that capability gap in some tactical scenarios.
International Land Force Developments: Australia
Royal Australian Artillery gunners fire the inaugural rounds from the M777A2 lightweight towed howitzer at Puckapunyal Range in Victoria, May 9, 2012. Australia announced plans to acquire two more batteries of M777A2s in 2012. Commonwealth of Australia photo
While not solely based on budgetary decisions, Australia is also making adjustments in tactical planning based on changes in acquisition strategies.
On Oct. 16, 2012, Minister for Defense Stephen Smith and Minister for Defense Materiel Jason Clare jointly announced that the Australian government had approved the purchase of an additional two artillery batteries of lightweight towed howitzers, comprising 19 BAE Systems’ M777A2 155 mm howitzers. The recent acquisition follows the government’s October 2009 announcement that it would acquire four batteries of M777A2s, comprising 35 howitzers.
The recent increase in towed howitzer quantities follows Australia’s May 2012 decision to cancel its planned acquisition of self-propelled howitzers and instead proceed with additional towed howitzer systems.
Noting that the M777A2s are also in service with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps and are currently supporting U.S. operations in Afghanistan, the October 2012 announcement pointed to “strengthen[ing] interoperability with our Alliance partner.”
“There are also significant efficiencies in sustainment and training through the fielding of a single fleet of howitzers,” it added.
International Land Force Developments: Canada
Canada is another country employing the M777A2s. In addition to that aspect of lethal commonality, Canada also provides several more examples of recent international developments designed to enhance land force survivability, increase lethality, and facilitate protected mobility.