(Reuters) – Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) have received an order from the German army to upgrade 143 Puma infantry fighting vehicles, the companies said on Wednesday

The order for their joint venture PSM is valued at around 770 million euros ($843.92 million), they said in a joint statement.

According to the companies, they will retrofit the armoured vehicles with key capabilities for firepower and command and control by 2029.

The contract, which was signed in 2021, included two options for modernising the vehicles, both of which Berlin has decided to execute now.

In late 2022, the German government said it would not purchase any more Pumas until they had proven themselves reliable, after several were put out of service during a military drill.

Germany has vowed to boost defence spending to modernise its military in the wake of the Ukraine war, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government making 100 billion euros available for defence investments.

($1 = 0.9124 euros)