General Dynamics Land Systems announces that it has delivered the first M10 Booker Combat Vehicles to the U.S. Army. The M10 Booker is a new assault vehicle for the Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs). It moves rapidly in a variety of terrain conditions to engage and destroy enemy combatants, bunkers, machine gun positions, fortifications and armored combat vehicles. As part of low-rate initial production (LRIP), multiple Booker vehicles have been delivered to the Army to support government testing and logistics efforts. The M10 Booker is an armored fighting vehicle under development by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) for the United States Army. The initial contract is for 96 low rate initial production (LRIP) vehicles, with first delivery by the end of 2023

The M10 Booker developed from the GDLS Griffin II armored fighting vehicle as the winner of its Mobile Protected Firepower program in June 2022. The Griffin is a derivative of ASCOD family of AFVs, which was also designed by GDLS. The Griffin II was offered under the U.S. Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF). In June 2023, MPF was officially designated as M10 Booker, named after Staff Sgt. Stevon A. Booker and Pvt. Robert D. Booker.[The Booker employs a four-person crew and features an enhanced thermal viewer, a large-caliber cannon, a lightweight hull and turret, and a modern diesel engine, transmission and suspension system. It has been designed from the start for capability upgrades, based on future operational needs.

“The M10 Booker is named after two American heroes who gave their lives in service to their country, and we are honored to design, build and deliver these vehicles to the Army. These latest Bookers incorporate improvements and lessons we learned from the Middle Tier Acquisition phase of the program, and we’re confident that Soldiers will find them highly useful in completing their missions,” said Gordon Stein, General Dynamics Land Systems vice president and general manager for U.S. operations.

The M10 Booker is called a light tank by some military officers and defense media due to its design and appearance, though Army officials related to the MPF program consider this incorrect. It is to weigh about 42 tons and will according to description essentially serve the role of an assault gun. The Griffin II was offered under the U.S. 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. The M35, known during development as the Waverliet EX35 and XM35, is an American 105 mm caliber low-recoil tank gun. The M35 was designed and developed by Benét Laboratories, Watervliet Arsenal in 1983. The XM35 105 mm gun has been type classified as the M35 but as the LAV-AG (Assault Gun) and M8 Armored Gun System Buford have been cancelled by the U.S. Marine Corps and Army.