German budget committee approves over €6 billion founding for several weapon systems

Source: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/8162/

08:38 GMT, June 18, 2009 defpro.com | Germany’s parliamentary budget committee has approved the purchase of different weapon systems including 31 Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3a aircraft as well as 405 Puma infantry fighting vehicles.

The first part of a third tranche of the Eurofighter combat aircraft, worth some €2.9 billion ($4.03 billion) will put Germany on track towards completing its purchase of 180 jets in total. This plan was reconsidered over the past few weeks due to budget constraints and rising costs. However, yesterday’s approval is a sign that Germany may go ahead with the full purchase. A decision on the final 38 aircraft of Tranche 3b is now expected to take place in May 2010.

Beyond that, the parliamentary budget committee also approved the purchase of 405 Puma IFVs built jointly by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall. The Schützenpanzer (SPz) Puma will replace the ageing Marder of the Bundeswehr and is expected to be introduced from 2010 to 2020. The Puma is expected to be better suitable for combat scenarios such as being encountered in Afghanistan, since the vehicle offer greater protection against IEDs and mines. The committee approved €3.1 billion for the 405 vehicles.

The Committee also passed a first procurement option for 311 Eurospike LR anti-tank missiles, in Germany also known as MELLS (mehrrollenfähiges leichtes Lenkflugkörpersystem) worth €35 million, plus an option for a further 1160 missiles. The missile is built by EuroSpike GmbH which is a joint venture including Diehl BGT Defence (DBD) of Überlingen, Germany, Rheinmetall Defence Electronics (RDE) of Bremen, Germany, and Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd. (Rafael) of Haifa, Israel and will replace the Milan LFK.

With its sophisticated dual-mode seeker head (CCD and IIR), the SPIKE LR can be operated in Fire & Forget or Fire Observe & Update mode by a bi-directional fibre optic communication link. The system is intended to be operated in an infantry mode or mounted on vehicles such as the SPz PUMA.

The committee also approved the buy of eight Wiesel 2 Mortar vehicles plus two command and fire control vehicles worth €64 million. Built by Rheinmetall Landsysteme (RLS) GmbH, the light armoured mortar vehicle is armed with a 120 mm mortar and can be lifted by a CH53 helicopter. The system is based on its tried-and-tested Wiesel 2 system. Designed and engineered by RLS, this state-of-the-art armoured vehicle serves as the weapon carrier in a new, advanced reconnaissance and combat network for infantry units consisting of six different airportable Wiesel 2 configurations. The Wiesel 2 Mortar is planned to be introduced in 2010 where it will replace the 120 mm-Mortar TAMPELLA, already in service since 40 years. According to a committee spokesman additional mortar systems will be acquired in the future.

The Committee also agreed to fit five minehunters with the Seafox expendable mine-disposal vehicle systems for €37.9 million. The Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) built by Atlas Elektronik will replace the Penguin system.

Germany also signed an agreement with Denmark which deals with sharing strategic sealift capabilities. This agreement may open the door for the purchase of two vessels by Denmark from, a German shipyard worth €120 million, a Committee spokesman said.

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Source: Source: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/8162/