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Germany Launches €4.2B Program to Modernize and Expand Puma IFV Fleet with 200 New Vehicles.
Germany’s Bundeswehr has signed a framework contract amendment via PSM, the Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland joint venture, to procure 200 additional Puma infantry fighting vehicles, with the contract taking legal effect in January 2026 and first deliveries planned for mid-2028.
On 19 December 2025, Rheinmetall reported that the German Bundeswehr has signed an amendment to its Puma programme to substantially expand the fleet through PSM, the Rheinmetall–KNDS Deutschland joint venture. The agreement, signed at the Bundeswehr procurement office BAAINBw in Koblenz, formalises a large-scale procurement that will take legal effect in January 2026 and is intended to translate current force-planning priorities into delivered platforms from 2028 onward. Beyond simple fleet growth, the package is structured to keep the vehicles aligned with evolving threats and technology cycles, notably with planned steps aimed at eliminating obsolescence and introducing new functions such as drone defence. The timeline and scope make this decision relevant because it couples mass procurement with an explicit upgrade pathway, rather than treating modernisation as an afterthought.
Germany has amended its Puma programme through PSM to buy 200 additional IFVs, with deliveries from 2028 and planned S2 upgrades, including counter-drone defense (Picture Source: Rheinmetall)
Under the amended framework, PSM has been commissioned to supply 200 Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicles, with first deliveries scheduled for mid-2028. The total gross procurement volume is stated at €4.2 billion, split evenly between KNDS and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH at €2.1 billion each, with both companies implementing the project as subcontractors. The contract scope is broader than the combat vehicles alone, as it also includes corresponding protection modules and storage containers, signalling an approach that budgets for deployable readiness and sustainment-related items in parallel with the platforms.
This expansion builds on the existing contractual architecture put in place in May 2023, when BAAINBw awarded PSM a framework contract for Puma deliveries and placed an initial order for 50 vehicles upon signature. The same framework has now been enlarged, and the next planned step is already mapped: a further contract amendment for the S2 construction status is expected around mid-2026. Rheinmetall states that S2 is intended to address obsolescence and to implement additional capabilities, including drone defence, with this work described as being based on the turret of the Jackal armoured vehicle. Read together, these milestones present the Puma programme as a rolling capability package, where procurement volume, protection fits and planned upgrades are treated as one continuous project.
From an operational point of view, the Puma is presented by Rheinmetall as the primary weapon system of German armoured infantry and as a platform designed for networked operations with modular protection tailored to mission requirements. The vehicle is specified to carry a crew of nine, with three crew members (commander, gunner and driver) plus a six-soldier dismount element, a configuration that supports mechanised infantry tactics where the vehicle’s sensors, communications and protection enable the squad to be delivered, supported and recovered under threat. The modular protection concept and the emphasis on networked operations point to a design logic focused on survivability and connectivity, two factors that have become increasingly decisive for armoured units facing a mix of guided anti-armour weapons, persistent observation and rapidly shifting engagement ranges.
The fleet’s upgrade pathway is already underway through a comprehensive modernisation effort ordered between 2023 and 2024, covering 297 Pumas from Bundeswehr stocks that do not yet meet the S1 series standard, with completion planned for 2029. Rheinmetall indicates that this retrofit includes integration of high-resolution day and night vision camera systems, the MELLS multi-role light guided missile system, and digital radio equipment. Tactically, these elements combine to improve detection and identification in degraded visibility, strengthen the vehicle’s ability to engage a wider set of threats at relevant ranges, and tighten coordination within the unit and across a networked battlefield. Strategically, the parallel tracks of procuring new vehicles while upgrading a large portion of the existing fleet suggest a deliberate attempt to generate quantity and standardisation at the same time, while the planned S2 focus on obsolescence and drone defence shows that the programme is being shaped around lessons about how quickly battlefield problems and countermeasures now evolve.
The Bundeswehr’s decision to procure 200 additional Pumas, while modernising 297 older vehicles and planning an S2 capability step, amounts to a long-term commitment to a standardised, upgradeable mechanised infantry fleet. The €4.2 billion gross structure and equal industrial split underline that Germany is pairing capability growth with sustained domestic production and integration capacity, rather than treating the procurement as a one-off purchase. With legal effect expected in January 2026 and deliveries from mid-2028, the programme’s credibility will ultimately be tested by whether the upgrade roadmap delivers on its stated goals, especially obsolescence management and the move toward organic drone-defence functions, at the pace implied by the contract milestones.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.