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. Mobility Traditionally, IFVs are expected to interact with main battle tanks (MBTs) on the battlefield. In reality, many IFVs are not mobile enough to keep up with the pace of an MBT. The Puma aims to close this gap with several key technologies. Firstly, its compact, lightweight MTU Diesel engine is unusually strong at 800 kW nominal output, which may make it the most powerful engine in use on an IFV today. Even at the 43 t maximum weight in protection class C, it has a higher kW/t ratio than the Leopard 2 MBT it is supposed to supplement. The vehicle prototypes have a five-road wheel decoupled running gear and use a hydropneumatic suspension to improve cross-country performance while reducing crew and material stress by limiting vibrations and noise. The road wheels are asymmetrical, mounted closer to each other at the front. This is to counter the front-heavy balance, inevitable because of the heavy frontal armor as well as the engine and drive train which are also situated at the front. The 500mm-wide steel tracks made by Diehl Defence are of new construction and lighter than previous designs. The serial production vehicles will have a symmetrical arranged six road wheel running gear as shown on released pictures by the manufacturer. Operators Current operator The Puma has been in service with the German Army since April 2015. 350 vehicles have been delivered as of August 2021. Originally 405 were ordered, but on 11 July 2012 the order was reduced to 350. In March 2022 the German Army secured financing for a second batch of 229 Pumas.: Puma orders were paused in December 2022 due to reliability issues, according to then defense minister Christine Lambrecht. Potential and future operators Offered by the German Army to supplement the Leopard 2 and the possibility of manufacturing it under license by FAMAE. The Croatian Army is looking at replacing 128 M80A IFV in its inventory; the CV90 and Puma are contenders. It requires 108 vehicles: 88 infantry combat vehicles, 4 driver training vehicles, 8 armoured ambulance vehicles, and 8 command vehicles. Budget for the 108 vehicles has not yet been set; however, €400 million is the projected