General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) Inc., Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $257,602,312 modification (P00078) to contract W56HZV-19-C-0036 for M10 Booker low-rate initial production under U.S. Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF). Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan; Anniston, Alabama; and Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 18, 2025. Fiscal 2023 procurement of weapons and tracked combat vehicles, Army funds in the amount of $257,602,312 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity.
The M10 Booker is an armored fighting vehicle under development by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) for the United States Army, based on the GDLS Griffin II light tank, as the winner of its Mobile Protected Firepower program in June 2022. The MPF is a U.S. Army program to procure a combat vehicle that is capable of providing mobile protected direct offensive fire capability. The vehicle is called a light tank or a medium weight tank by some sources, though Army officials consider this incorrect. It is to weigh about 42 tons and will according to description essentially serve the role of an assault gun.
This vehicle is considered a light tank by some sources, but not according to U.S. Army officals. A previous light tank development for the Army, the M8 Armored Gun System, was canceled in 1996. The U.S. Army downselected General Dynamics Land Systems’ (GDLS) Griffin II and BAE Systems’ M8 AGS to go forward with evaluation. Both companies delivered prototypes of their vehicles in 2020. The U.S. Army selected the GDLS model later that year. The M10 Booker is intended to fill the firepower gap between the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and the M1 Abrams main battle tank.
The U.S. Department of Defence has finally officially revealed the name of the first light tank in almost 40 years. The presentation ceremony of the tank took place on June 9, 2023, the U.S. Army’s birthday. The fighting vehicle was named M10 Booker after two members of the U.S. Army. The name honors Staff Sgt. Stevon A. Booker, who received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously for life-saving valor in the 2003 Iraq invasion, and Pvt. Robert D. Booker, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions in Tunisia in 1943 that cost his life. The M10 Booker was the second combat vehicle after the Stryker to be named after two militaries at once.
