After the failure of 18 Puma armored personnel carriers, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) continues to put pressure on the manufacturers. The Minister of Defense expressly reserves the right to end the Puma program entirely and possibly not to order any more such tanks.
Lambrecht said in an interview with WELT AM SONNTAG: “In view of these failures, I will not rule out anything. The industry is now obliged to show whether and, if so, how this project can be continued,” said Lambrecht. All further payments to the companies have been suspended until further notice.
The social democrat sees nothing new in the delivery of Patriot missile systems by the United States in aid to Ukraine. “The USA and many other countries are already supplying numerous heavy weapons to Ukraine without becoming a party to the war. Therefore, I don’t see why the supply of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, which are purely defensive, should represent a significant change.”
According to Lambrecht, Germany will not send any Patriot missiles to Ukraine. “We have delivered the Iris-T-SLM system to Ukraine, an air defense system that is unrivaled in the world and has been highly successful in repelling missiles and drones in Ukraine on a daily basis. And we will deliver three more Iris-T systems next year. With our Patriot systems, we are protecting NATO’s eastern flank in Slovakia and soon in Poland as well.”
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