Panzer Grenadiers of mechanized infantry companies through a three-month course to familiarize them with their Pumas. The Puma officially entered service with the German military on 24 June 2015. Future Given the advanced age of the current Marder IFVs, and because the world market does not offer any vehicle comparable with the specifications to which the Puma is built, the acquisition of the new vehicles was unanimously voted for by the budget committee of the Bundestag. 350 Pumas were delivered to replace the more than 40-year-old Marders. Full operational readiness was to be achieved by 2024. The German Army will use €500 million to modernize 40 Pumas by 2023, with more effective weaponry and communications technology capable of rapidly providing a situation image and GPS coordinates to fighter jets. This variant was cleared for operations in March 2021, after successfully completing the armies tactical evaluation in its second attempt. The German contribution to the NATO VJTF in 2023 is intended to include Pumas to this standard. There are provisions for hard- or soft-kill systems to defeat hostile ATGMs or RPGs, or for future active/reactive armor. There are also mounts and interfaces for the inclusion of ATGMs on the right side of the turret. The Puma's large weight reserves and the compact cabin make it very attractive for modification. Most vital integrals are situated in the front, floor, and side walls, which may remain unchanged during such a cabin-oriented modification. On 28 June 2021, BAAINBw awarded the Rheinmetall-KMW joint venture PSM a EUR1.04 billion (US$1.23 billion) contract to upgrade 154 German Army Pumas to the S1 enhanced design status. The upgrade includes equipping the Puma with the Mehrrollenfähiges leichtes Lenkflugkörper-System (Multirole-capable Light Missile System: MELLS, the Bundeswehr's designation for the Spike-LR), integrating a turret-independent secondary weapon system, new digital radios, high-resolution day/night cameras for the driver and mounted squad, color-enabled optronics for the gunner and commander, and connecting the vehicle with the Infanterist der Zukunft - Erweitertes System (Future Soldier - Expanded System, IdZ-ES) and battle management system. The contract is scheduled for completion by 2029; an option to upgrade another 143 Pumas is included, which combined with the 40 already upgraded would bring all but 13 driver training vehicles in the German Army's inventory to S1-standard. That option was approved in December 2022. In March 2022 a second batch comprising 229 Pumas of the latest standard was announced to be