Only 1 in 3 of German military's self-propelled howitzers 2000 operational: Ministry

GENEVA (AA) - A large majority of the German Army's self-propelled howitzer 2000 artillery pieces are currently not operational, according to local media.

Citing a confidential Defense Ministry paper, daily Bild reported that the Bundeswehr can currently deploy only about one in three of these howitzers.

According to Bild, the military has 105 of the howitzers as of Dec. 2, but only 73 of them are currently in the army's "available inventory," and their operational readiness is "around 50%." This leaves only 36 operational howitzers.

In addition, on Dec. 2, a total of 18 self-propelled howitzer 2000s were in "factory maintenance at the industry," Bild reported from the ministry document. According to the report, it is unclear how many of the 36 operational weapon systems are among them.

The self-propelled howitzer 2000 can shoot 30 to 40 kilometers (18.6 to 24.8 miles), depending on the ammunition used. Firing up to 10 shells per minute, it is considered by experts to be one of the most modern howitzers in the world.

On Sunday, separately, serious problems with the Bundeswehr's Puma infantry fighting vehicle became known. During a drill, all 18 Puma vehicles in service broke down with technical problems.

The vehicles were supposed to be deployed in January for NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). They are now to be replaced by Marder tanks.