On June 27, the U.S. Army Contract Command (ACC) at the Detroit Arsenal in Michigan signed a $320 million contract with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce and deliver the next batch of low-speed, initially produced M10 Booker vehicles.
Production will take place at Stirling Heights (Michigan), Anniston (Alabama) and Lima (Ohio) with an expected completion date of October 20, 2026. Funding comes from the US Army's defense budget for fiscal years 2023 and 2023 from the Weapons and Equipment and Tracked Combat Vehicle Procurement Fund. Full financing was initiated at the time of contract signing.
On April 15 of this year, the U.S. Army Contract Command signed a $300 million framework agreement with General Dynamics Land Systems to provide technical support for the M10 Booker fighting vehicle.
To date, General Dynamics Land Systems has delivered 24 low-volume production M10 Booker tanks to the US Army, 13 of which were sent to Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Prague) for four-month operational tests at the end of June.
General Dynamics Land Systems has delivered 24 small-production tanks, 13 of which will be sent for four-month operational testing as early as July this year. Based on the test results, it is decided whether to make modifications and then whether to start full-speed production. The remaining 11 vehicles will undergo survivability, reliability and operational vulnerability tests, followed by qualification tests (mobility tests, fire tests). The U.S. Army plans to purchase 504 M10 Booker vehicles by 2035 at an estimated cost of about $6 billion and an estimated 30-year life cycle operating cost of $17 billion.
The M10 Booker fully tracked light armored fighting vehicle was selected for the U.S. Army's Mobile Protective Firepower Program (MPF) on June 28, 2022, and its name was officially revealed on June 10, 2023.
General Dynamics Land Systems drew on the experience of previous Griffin I and Griffin II technology demonstrators. In the final configuration, the 42-ton vehicle was equipped with a 105 mm M35 rifled gun with an effective range of 4,000 meters, a 7.62 mm M240 coaxial machine gun, a 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun on top of the turret, and two quadruple smoke grenade launchers on either side of the turret. On April 24, 2020, the first prototype was unveiled for the first time, weighing 38 tons.
The M10 Booker is 7.6 meters long, 3.4 meters wide and 2.8 meters high. It is equipped with a German MTU 8V199 TE23 diesel engine rated at 1070 hp (800 kW), an Allison 3040 MX hydromechanical powerpack drivetrain, as well as a Horstmann hydropneumatic suspension system and T-161 tracks, for off-road speeds of up to 50 km/h, a maximum road speed of up to 65 km/h, and a range of up to 305 km. The crew consisted of four soldiers: the commander, the driver, the gunner, and the loader.
Cameras and omnidirectional sensors provide 360-degree situational awareness to the occupants, as well as an infantry phone at the rear of the hull. The M10 Booker uses the same fire control system as the M1A2SEPv3 Abrams main battle tank, as well as a commander-independent observer with Safran's PASEO observation and sighting head.
The turret system for the M10 Booker is manufactured at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, which is also home to the Abrams main battle tank. The hull was built in Michigan, the guns were built at the Waterfleet Arsenal in New York, and the final assembly was carried out at the Anniston Military Yard in Alabama.
The M10 Booker will fill the gap between the M105 mobile artillery system with the M68A2 rifled gun, which is equipped with a 1128 mm rifled gun, and the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, which was decommissioned at the end of 2022. A C-17A strategic transport aircraft can carry up to 2 "Booker" combat vehicles in the cargo compartment.