M10 Booker should not be confused with M10 tank destroyer.
M10 Booker | |
Is Vehicle: | yes |
Origin: | United States |
Designer: | General Dynamics Land Systems |
Weight: | roughly 38-[1] |
Suspension: | Hydropneumatic[2] |
Speed: | 45mph |
Primary Armament: | 1 × 105 mm M35 tank gun |
Secondary Armament: | 1 × 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun 1 × 7.62 mm M240B machine gun |
Vehicle Range: | 250miles350miles |
Engine: | Diesel MTU 8V199 TE23[3] 15.9 L, |
Transmission: | Allison Transmission 3040 MX cross-drive |
The M10 Booker is an armored fighting vehicle under development by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) for the United States Army, developed from the GDLS Griffin II armored fighting vehicle as the winner of its Mobile Protected Firepower program in June 2022. The initial contract is for 96 low rate initial production (LRIP) vehicles, the first of which were delivered in February 2024.[4] [5]
The vehicle is called a light tank by some military officers and defense media due to its design and appearance,[6] [7] although Army officials related to the MPF program consider this incorrect.[8] [9] The vehicle weighs about 42 tons.[10]
Derived from the Austrian-Spanish ASCOD 2 infantry fighting vehicle-platform,[11] the GDLS Griffin II was offered under Army's Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF). In accordance with the program's caliber requirements, it incorporated a 105 mm M35 tank gun and a redesigned chassis.[12] [13] [14] The M35 was originally designed and developed by Benét Laboratories, Watervliet Arsenal, in 1983 for the Marine Corps' Mobile Protected Gun Program. It was later incorporated in the Army's M8 Armored Gun System light tank, which was canceled in 1996.[15] [16] The M35 is about 18000NaN0 lighter than the M68 used on the M60 tank.[17]
In December 2018, GDLS was downselected, along with BAE Systems, to develop prototypes.[18] GDLS presented its first prototype in April 2020.[19] BAE's M8 AGS proposal was disqualified in March 2022.[20] In June 2022, GDLS won the Mobile Protected Firepower program competition and was awarded a contract worth up to $1.14 billion.[21] [4]
The MPF was officially designated "M10 Booker" in June 2023, named for American soldiers Private Robert D. Booker and Staff Sergeant Stevon Booker. Robert Booker was killed on 9 April 1943 during the Tunisian campaign of World War II, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Stevon Booker was killed on 5 April 2003 during a "Thunder Run" in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.[10] [22]
The U.S. Army took delivery of the first production vehicle in February 2024.[23] In May 2024, the U.S. Army issued a solicitation for full-rate production.[24]
The Army is set to procure up to 504 M10s, all of which will be allotted to light divisions in the active duty and National Guard. The 82nd Airborne Division will become the first unit equipped when 33 M10s enter Fort Liberty motor pools in late FY25. The 82nd will initially field a battalion of M10s, divided into three companies. The M10s will be controlled as a divisional asset. Commanders will determine, based on mission objectives, which infantry brigade combat teams (IBCTs) will be supported by the M10-equipped battalion. The armored vehicles might be spread out evenly among the division’s IBCTs, or two companies might be assigned to a single IBCT with another company held in reserve, or some other combination. As of 2023, the Army is in the midst of transition from brigades to divisions as the tactical unit of action. It will be the division commander who will have the flexibility to configure the force to take advantage of all the division’s capabilities—retaining a tactical overmatch to the adversary that can be tailored to a specific battlefield scenario.[25]