Don Surber
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Monday, December 19, 2022
Germans screwing up NATO
The Sunday Times of London reported, “NATO force set back by German tank’s ‘total failure.’”
The Panzers are now the Puma armored personnel carriers — and in combat they turn to stone.Major general Ruprecht von Butler, who commands the 10th Panzer Division, wrote a letter condemning the Pumas. He calls them breakdown tank.
The newspaper said, “The Puma is the most expensive infantry fighting vehicle in the world at more than €17 million per unit, and while the Bundeswehr have ordered 350, technical problems have delayed deployment. The cost of fixing the 41 Pumas for the NATO force is estimated at €723.5 million while €2.8 billion is earmarked to get 297 others into service.
“During a recent eight-day exercise with 18 of the vehicles to prepare for frontline alliance roles, operational readiness dropped to zero, or ‘totalausfall’ [total failure], within a few days, according to Von Butler’s letter, which has been leaked to Spiegel magazine.”
Let’s see, 41 Pumas times €17 million per Puma equals €697 million.
And it will cost just €723.5 million to fix them.
So much for German engineering.
Deutsche Welle reported, “Germany has maintained a fleet of 350 Puma vehicles and secured financing for 229 additional units after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The vehicle has previously made headlines in the German press as the so-called Pannenpanzer, or breakdown tank.
“Von Butler wrote in his letter to the Defense Ministry that although troops were aware of the Puma’s reputation for unreliability, such technical problems had “never occurred with such frequency” as seen in the recent test.
“The latest spate of incidents included one tank that suffered a cable fire in the driver’s compartment, while at least two others had turret defects that emerged during the training exercise.”
The Pannenpanzer tanks show Germany is about as serious as France when it comes to protecting Europe from Russian aggression.
Jed Babbin said nearly 20 years ago, “going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion.”
Germany is the tuba player.
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My Substack column this week is “The dummy who invented the artificial heart.”
Enjoy it!
Posted by Don Surber at Monday, December 19, 2022
