The purchase of more M10 Booker Combat Vehicles will further strengthen U.S. Army armored forces, according to a super $300 million contract General Dynamics recently bagged. It has been seen as a big deal in modernizing the mechanized brigades at the Pentagon to suit the changing nature of battlefield threats.
The M10 Booker is a 40-ton light tank, which would mount a heavy 105mm main gun, a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, as well as a 7.62mm machine gun. The development is aimed at accelerated mobility and building modularity for upgrades based on sensors and optics that will keep it abreast of modern warfare. More than 500 M10 Bookers are on the Army’s roadmap for rollout by 2035.
The lessons from the conflict in Ukraine, where the primacy of armored might and especially the tank continues to dominate the scene despite ever-advancing drone technology and anti-tank munitions, the M10 Booker would fill specific needs for increased firepower and maneuverability. Modular design gives way for future technological inputs making the system longer-lasting operationally and with lower procurement costs.
The M10 Booker is named after Private Robert D. Booker and Staff Sergeant Stevon A. Booker, whose impressive courageous posthumous military honors gave them a place in this army list. This vehicle will enable the squad to move through heavy machine-gun fire, so it does protect soldiers while executing the maneuvers, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville for such nomenclatures.
Additionally, in April 2024, the Department of Defense allocated $297 million for long-term technical support for the M10 Booker program up to 2029. Funds will be expended toward continuing to maintain the readiness of the platform, with an eye toward initial operating capability within the 2030s.
Despite its critical role in filling a long-standing capability gap, the M10 Booker was conveniently excluded from the 2024 Army Force Structure Transformation Initiative, a white paper detailing how the service is adapting to new operational environments. The Army acquisition objective is set at 504 systems, with plans to field four M10 battalions by 2030.
In such a context of ever-increasing U.S. Army tank strength, it is fascinating to see how the M10 Booker has stood out as a symbol of the timeless relevance of armored vehicles within modern warfare strategies.