Puma (AFV)

The Puma light wheeled armoured fighting vehicle family consists of the Puma 6x6 and the Puma 4x4. The vehicles were developed and are produced by the Consorzio Iveco Fiat - Oto Melara of Italy for the Italian Army. First prototypes completed in 1988, with a total of five testbed vehicles being completed by 1990.

The 4x4 variant carries 3 troops plus driver, the 6x6 variant carries 6 troops plus driver.

History


At first the Puma was intended to complement the Centauro wheeled tank destroyer in service with the Italian Army's Cavalry Regiments, but today most infantry regiments of the Italian Army have also been equipped with Pumas. Eight cavalry regiments and two special forces regiments are equipped with a total of 330 Puma 4x4 vehicles. 250 Puma 6x6 vehicles are in service with the Italian Army Lagunari Regiment “Serenissima”, the “Folgore” Parachutist Brigade, the 66th Air Assault Regiment and the Alpini Regiments.

In Italian service, the 4X4 variant carries two soldiers in addition to the driver and gunner, and is used in pairs for battlefield reconnaissance. The 6X6 version carries four soldiers plus driver and gunner, and together with another Puma 6X6 can carry an entire Italian infantry squad of eight men.

At the end of 1999, the Italian Army ordered 580 Puma vehicles, 250 of the 6x6 configuration, and 330 4x4 vehicles. First vehicles were completed in mid-2003.

In 2007 the Italian Army ordered 19 Hitrole 12.7mm machine gun remote controlled turrets from Oto Melara and is planning to add extra armor to the vehicle.

In March 2013, Italy donated 20 of its Puma 4x4 vehicles to the Libyan National Army to face terrorism threats and reaffirm friendly ties with the former colony.

Operators

 * 🇮🇹 Italian Army
 * 🇦🇷 Argentine Army - 2 units to train Blue Helmets at Campo de Mayo
 * 🇱🇾 Libyan National Army - 20 Puma 4x4 vehicles donated from the Italian Army
 * 🇩🇯 - 3 puma