leKpz Borkenkäfer

In the 1970s, the Germans began developing a universal chassis for Bundeswehr light tanks. One of the projects with the new chassis was a light tank that was unofficially called the Borkenkäfer ("bark beetle"). The vehicle had a fairly powerful gun (up to 105 mm) and excellent mobility parameters. A fire control system with a dual-channel reticle and two rangefinders ensured high firing accuracy in any weather. Due to the complexity of the FCS, the program was reduced into the PUMA (Panzer unter minimalen Aufwand—tank for minimal costs) project, and then closed. Although the chassis was built, the vehicle only existed in blueprints.