First fully LNG-powered cruise ship Neptun is anchored after completing the preparation of LNG's conversion to the gaseous state on the Sassnitz harbor located in the Baltic Sea in Berlin, Germany on November 23, 2022. Photo: VCG?

 Germany will not purchase any more Puma infantry tanks until they have proven themselves to be reliable, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Monday after several of the vehicles were put out of service during a recent military drill.

"The recent failures of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle are a major setback," Lambrecht said in a statement.

Shares in Rheinmetall, which manufactures the tanks together with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), were down 7 percent after the minister's announcement.

"Our troops must be able to rely on weapon systems being robust and stable even in combat," Lambrecht said, while assuring NATO allies that they could continue to rely on Berlin to fulfill its readiness obligations as part of a joint task force (VJTF) from 2023.

A statement from the German defense ministry said the goal was to make the Puma tanks operational as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the German Bundeswehr military would use Marder tanks, the predecessor model to the Puma, from January 1, in what a ministry spokesperson called a "fall-back solution."

The Spiegel magazine reported over the weekend that 18 Puma tanks intended for NATO's very high readiness joint task force in 2023 were not operational after problems arose during a firing exercise.

Germany has vowed to boost defense spending and modernize its military with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government making 100 billion euros ($106.10 billion) available for defense investments in 2022's budget.

Reuters