page_title: Puma (IFV)
section_title: Sensors and situational awareness
hierarchical_section_title: Puma (IFV) / Design / Sensors and situational awareness
caption_attribution_description: English: center: Electro optical targeting system aka WAO station (gunners sight) of Puma IFV, right: MUSS front sensor, Open day at German Army Training Centre, Munster 2015 Deutsch: Mitte: Waffenanlage Optronik des SPz Puma, rechts: MUSS Frontsensor, Tag der offenen Tür im Ausbildungszentrum Munster 2015
context_page_description: The Puma is a German infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) designed to replace the aging Marder IFVs currently in service with the German Army. Production of the first batch of 350 vehicles began in 2010 and is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2020. A second batch of 210 Pumas has received funding. Mass production began on 6 July 2009. The companies responsible for this project are Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme, who created a joint venture in the form of Projekt System Management GmbH. The Puma is one of the world's best-protected IFVs, while still having a high power-to-weight ratio. SAIC offered a derivative of the Puma as its contender in the now cancelled American GCV Infantry Fighting Vehicle program.
context_section_description: The Puma offers improvements in situational awareness. The fully stabilized 360° periscope (PERI) with six different zoom stages offers a direct glass optic link to either the commander or the gunner. Since this is an optical line, it had to be placed in the turret center, one of the reasons why the main cannon is mounted off-center on the turret. Via an additional CCD camera the picture from this line can also be fed into the on-board computer network and displayed on all electronic displays within the vehicle. Besides that, the periscope offers an optronic thermal vision mode and a wide-angle camera with three zoom stages to assist the driver, as well as a laser range finder. The whole array is hunter-killer capable; the commander also has 5 vision blocks.
  The gunner optics, which can be completely protected with a slide hatch, are mounted coaxially to the main gun. The gunner has a thermal vision camera and laser range finder (identical to those on the PERI) and an optronic day sight, rounded off with a vision- and a glass block. The driver has three of them, as well as an image intensifier and one display for optronic image feeds. Even the passenger cabin has a hatch and three vision blocks on the rear right side of the vehicle, one of them in a rotary mount. The rear cabin also has two electronic displays.
  All in all, the Puma has an additional five external cameras at its rear in swing-mounts for protection while not in use. Apart from the glass optic periscope view directly accessible only by the commander and gunner (but indirectly via the CCD camera), all optronic picture feeds can be displayed on every electronic display within the vehicle. The provisions for the rear cabin enable the passengers to be more active than previously in assisting the vehicle crew either directly through the vision blocks and hatches, or by observing one or more optronic feeds. The whole crew has access to the onboard intercom.
caption: Gunner's sight in the center. On the right, the MUSS front sensor.
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