Bundeswehr orders more 30 mm ammunition for its Puma IFVs

The Bundeswehr has once again placed an order with Rheinmetall for 30 mm ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) as part of an extended framework contract concluded in 2022, Rheinmetall announced on 5 January 2026.

The new order is worth several hundred million euros.

Rheinmetall’s December 2022 framework agreement with the Bundeswehr, covering the supply of 30 mm x 173 ammunition for the Puma IFV, runs until 2029 and has now been extended in terms of delivery quantity and order volume. It provides for the delivery of several hundred thousand cartridges worth around EUR 1 billion, with a medium six-figure quantity of ammunition retrieved.

To strengthen its Puma fleet the Bundeswehr recently commissioned joint venture partners Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland to supply 200 additional IFVs. The Puma is equipped with Rheinmetall’s MK30-2/ABM (Airburst Munition) 30 mm cannon, which combines a high rate of fire with programmable state-of-the-art ammunition technology. This makes the MK30-2/ABM “an extremely reliable and uncompromising weapon system”, according to Rheinmetall, with an effective range of over 2,000 m and a powerful capability against land, air or sea targets.

Rheinmetall is a key supplier of combat ammunition to the Bundeswehr. The company produces and supplies two types of combat ammunition for the Puma IFV: KE-TF DM21 and KE DM33 in 30 mm x 173 calibre. Both types of ammunition have been developed and certified in accordance with the latest standards, “offering unrivalled reliability, effectiveness, penetration and precision worldwide”, Rheinmetall states.

The programmable KE-TF (Kinetic Energy Time Fuse) ammunition enables the Puma IFV to engage larger soft and semi-hard surface targets as well as drones.