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BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is assessing its Puma tanks, manufactured by Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), aft immoderate of the vehicles were enactment retired of work during a caller subject drill, a defence ministry spokesperson said connected Monday.
"The nonaccomplishment of the Pumas successful the latest workout is simply a dense setback for us," the spokesperson told a regular quality assurance successful Berlin.
Germany would inactive fulfill its NATO readiness commitments by switching to older Marder tanks from Jan. 1, the spokesperson said, describing this arsenic a "fall-back solution".
The Spiegel mag reported implicit the play that 18 Puma tanks intended for NATO's precise precocious readiness associated task unit (VJTF) adjacent twelvemonth were not operational aft problems arose during a firing exercise.
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht held talks connected Monday with manufacture and officials and said successful a connection that she had requested a study connected the difficulties by the extremity of adjacent week.
"NATO tin proceed to trust connected our show of work successful the VJTF," she said successful a statement.
Rheinmetall shares were trading 5% little connected Monday day pursuing the reported problems with the tanks.
A spokesperson for the institution did not remark connected the issues.
(Reporting by Rachel More; Editing by Paul Carrel)
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