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Kassel/Kiel. Right on schedule, the German Army’s first Puma infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) is set to roll off the assembly lines of Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Krauss- Maffei Wegmann just before Christmas 2005. Representing an entirely new departure in armored vehicle design, the Puma once again places Germany’s army technology industry on the global cutting edge, bolstering its leading position in this domain. The Puma vehicle concept is unlike any other, with numerous characteristics that make it the world’s safest, most secure IFV. The new Newsline Germany’s biggest procurement project right on schedule The Puma IFV is ready to pounce he first roadworthy Puma will be presented to the Bundeswehr on December 20, 2005 in Kassel. RLS’s plants in Kiel, Kassel and Gersthofen (near Augsburg) are all involved in the project, as are KMW’s Kassel and Munich plants. The teamwork has been impressive: based on the PSM concept Rheinmetall Landsysteme engineered the Puma’s chassis in Kiel. The same is true of initial work on the hull, ultimately supplied by B+V Industrietechnik, a Hamburg company that specializes in welding steel armor. “Our expertise is what makes it possible to turn all this into an advanced IFV. The complete system integration of the GSD chassis is in the hands of RLS”, declares Helge Möller, 44, in charge of developing and engineering the Puma. The power pack, electronics, heating and climate control technology are all integrated in Kiel. KMW manufactures the turret in Kassel, as well as the individual crew stations, which in the Puma are integrated into the hull. Its main armament comes from RLS’s Gersthofen plant, consisting of the MK 30-2/ABM automatic cannon made by Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH in Oberndorf. In order to commission the complete system, in mid November 2005 the demonstrator version will be taken over from RLS in Kassel. “The Puma is equipped with an advanced high-power density (HPD) diesel power pack featuring high integration density, specially developed by MTU. The engine has an 800 kW output; there is also a starter generator between the engine and the transmission, which can crank out up to 170 kW in power”, states Helge Möller, a trained mechanical engineer. According to Möller, there’s never a dull moment these days: “Being part of the country’s biggest army technology program is an exciting challenge” – all the more so since the project has progressed at a record pace. As Möller recounts, “all of the main companies (for example, RLS, KMW, MTU and Renk) involved in developing and engineering the Puma use 3D CAD systems. This means that the participating companies generate all the components and subassemblies as 3D models, which they can then exchange.” As a result, interfaces can be studied and identified at an early stage, and steadily refined during the development process – right up until the final binding specification. In organizing this process, PSM GmbH has had to take into account the stringent, highly heterogeneous requirements the new IFV will have to 6 system is thus a clear investment in the security and future effectiveness of the German Army, which will be the first to field it. Close cooperation between Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS), Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW) and their subcontractors made for a quick development phase. The company Projekt System & Management GmbH (PSM) of Kassel, a joint venture of RLS and KMW, is in charge of the project, which brings together the expertise of two of Europe’s leading makers of light and heavyweight armored vehicles. Peter Hellmeister: “Our mission is to build the world’s best infantry fighting vehicle.” meet. “In order to combine the utmost in crew protection with complete airportability, we had to develop a totally new armor concept”, recalls Dr. Peter Hellmeister, 53, one of PSM GmbH’s two managing directors. The Puma features two levels of protection: in Protection Level A (Airportable), the vehicle is light enough to be airlifted yet still offers the world’s best protection against landmines; to achieve Protection Level C (Combat), separately airportable add-on armor elements can be fitted to the vehicle as soon as it reaches the area of operations, reliably protecting it from rocket propelled grenades. The lateral protection elements can be folded down after mounting, meaning that the Puma can be transported by rail even when configured for combat. “When it comes to ballistic and landmine protection, we’re the best worldwide”, affirms Hellmeister, who began his career at (Continued on page 7) Photo: Annette Kaduhr
Rheinmetall in Düsseldorf and has overseen the Puma project for the past three years. The objective was to create a vehicle capable not only of keeping up with the Leopard 2 main battle tank at home, but of being airlifted to remote areas of operation – ideally in all climate zones. The bulk of development work took place at PSM’s parent companies – RLS and KMW – who assigned some 200 developers to the project. Equipping the Puma with an entirely new protection concept was a prime objective. “We aimed to create space for a nine-man crew, with maximum protection from landmines and rocket propelled grenades”, stresses Peter Hellmeister. This led to the novel idea of placing the crew in the chassis. “Because the turret has to be remotely controlled”, explains Hellmeister, “the infantry squad isn’t separated from the turret crew.” As a result, only the one compact compartment requires maximum protection. Moreover, this eliminates the dead space that naturally occurs when a round turret is placed on a rectangular vehicle. Importantly, nobody sits in the turret, the most exposed and vulnerable part of an armored vehicle. These fundamental concepts ensure a high degree of passive protection, especially since the entire crew in the fighting compartment can maintain visual contact at all times, fostering clear communication – a crucial factor in combat. “We’re also setting new standards when it comes to the power pack,” states Hellmeister, a nuclear physicist by training. The problem is simple: the bigger the engine, the greater the space requirement and the heavier the vehi- Newsline Germany’s biggest procurement project right on schedule The Puma IFV is ready to pounce (Continued from page 6) cle, inevitably leading to a decline in the power-to-weight ratio – something of a vicious circle. Compared with analogous engines, however, the Puma’s power pack is significantly smaller and lighter. The power pack fills up 92 percent of the forward area of the vehicle, a triumph of space economy. The Puma’s pioneering anti-landmine protection also merits special attention. The double-layered floor of the vehicle is specifically designed to absorb the shockwave from an explosive blast. As Hellmeister explains, “The shockwave doesn’t reach the crew, because the inner floor is designed to give the lower floor sufficient room to move in the event of a detonation.” This effectively thwarts the physics of an explosive blast. A glance at the interior of the demonstrator vehicle reveals an added force protection feature: the crew sit on nylon slings rather than floor-mounted seats. This kind of passive force protection thinking extends to every component in the IFV. The automatic turret naturally contains the ammunition supply, which reaches the Puma’s twin guns via an ammunition feeding system. “If the turret takes a hit and its armor is penetrated, the ammunition stored there burns off, damaging the turret but not the fighting compartment. The crew remains unharmed, because the two parts of the vehicle are completely separate”, explains Peter Hellmeister, highlighting one of the Puma’s key safety features. 7 The new IFV’s running gear goes a long way in reducing physical strain on the crew during operation: it is effectively decoupled from the hull, to which it is linked by elastic connectors. Just as in standard automotive applications, hydropneumatic suspension elements serve as shock absorbers – a novel development in armored vehicle engineering. This lowers the noise level in the Puma to 95 decibels, significantly less than the 120 decibels typical in such vehicles today. “Since the decibel scale is logarithmic, for the troops this means a 90% reduction in audible noise and vibration in the vehicle,” declares Hellmeister, noting that this translates into less stress during operations. “It’s important to remember that we’re talking about the soldiers’ workplace here”, points out the PSM managing director. The running gear also fits nicely into the underlying concept of passive safety. Because the torsion bar suspension typical in tanks is dispensed with in the Puma, the empty space above the lower floor (which a mine blast explosively deforms and pushes toward the fighting compartment) can be reduced. A further special feature: the running gear supports are hollow. Not only does this save weight, it creates space for fuel tanks, which are located in var- Set to roll of in December 2005: The Puma IFV is the German military’s largest, most important procurement project at present. ious compartments in the two running gear supports. Here, too, “safety first” is the watchword: if one of the storage tanks is damaged and the fuel catches fire, it burns outside of the fighting compartment, posing no danger to the crew. If worse comes to worse, the IFV’s fuel supply system can switch to emergency operating mode, providing the Puma with an adequate degree of mobility. (Continued on page 8) Composing: René Dahlmanns
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