M10 Booker advances towards service
The first Booker was handed over to the US Army in February. (Photo: GDLS)
The M10 Booker will be the US Army’s first new light tank in decades and last month’s low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract for continued manufacture was a major step in a programme which will substantially reshape the force’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs).
In July 2022, the US Army selected General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to meet its Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) requirement, a platform later named as M10 Booker.
Major milestones have been passed this year, specifically the awarding of a US$322 million LRIP contract in August, with the first vehicle handed over in February 2024.
GDLS developed the platform for MPF by leveraging several components from the company’s Austro-Spanish Cooperative Development (ASCOD) family and the M1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT).
It is intended to provide organic direct fire support to IBCTs and, importantly, the MPF will be smaller and lighter
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