The Puma is a family of Italian light wheeled

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

family, consisting of the Puma 6×6 and the Puma 4×4. The vehicles were developed and are produced by the Consorzio Iveco Fiat – Oto Melara for the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

. First prototypes completed in 1988, with a total of five testbed vehicles being completed by 1990. The 4x4 variant carries 3 troop members plus the driver, the 6×6 variant carries 6 troops plus driver.

History

At first the Puma was intended to complement the

Centauro The Centauro is a family of Italian military vehicles originating from a wheeled tank destroyer for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Ive ...

wheeled tank destroyer in service with the Italian Army's Cavalry

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

s, but today most infantry regiments of the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

have also been equipped with Pumas. Eight cavalry regiments and two special forces regiments are equipped with a total of 330 Puma 4×4 vehicles. 250 Puma 6×6 vehicles are in service with the Italian Army Lagunari Regiment "Serenissima", the "Folgore"

Parachutist Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

, the 66th Air Assault Regiment and the Alpini Regiments. In Italian service, the 4×4 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 6×6 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 6×6 configuration, and 330 4×4 vehicles. First vehicles were completed in mid-2003. In 2007 the Italian Army ordered 19

Hitrole The Hitrole is a remote weapons station manufactured by Italian arms company Oto Melara (merged into Leonardo S.p.A., previously Finmeccanica since 2016). The ''"role"'' portion of the name is short for "''R''emotely ''O''perated, ''L''ight ''E' ...

12.7mm

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

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 4×4 vehicles to the

Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; ar, الجيش الوطني الليبي, ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii'') is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa ...

to face terrorism threats and reaffirm friendly ties with the former colony.Libya has received 20 Italian-made Puma wheeled armoured vehicles
– Armyrecognition.com, March 3, 2013

Operators

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

– 2 units to train peacekeepers at

Campo de Mayo Campo de Mayo is a military base located in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, northwest of Buenos Aires. Campo de Mayo covers an area of and is one of the most important military bases in Argentina, including Argentine Army's: * General Lemos Co ...

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

: 14 Puma 4x4 donated by Italy *

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

– 20 Puma 4×4 vehicles donated from the Italian ArmyLibya takes delivery of 69 Puma, Nimr Armoured Vehicles
/ref> *

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

– 79 Puma 6x6 sold from italian stocks

References

External links

Official website
{{Commons category, Puma (AFV) Armoured fighting vehicles of Italy Wheeled armoured personnel carriers Iveco vehicles Six-wheeled vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s

History

Operators

See also

References

External links