New era for US Army: M10 Booker set to replace light tanks

The M10 Booker will replace light tanks in the US Army, filling the gap left by the M551 Sheridan and M8. Ongoing operational tests confirm readiness for implementation. The new vehicle's history and development show the long path to its creation.

When we hear "US Army" and "tank" in one sentence, we instinctively think of the mighty Abrams. In its first version (M1), it weighed approximately 53 tonnes, and today the fully equipped M1A2 SEPv3 can weigh almost 72 tonnes. This does not mean that the American armed forces always had only one type of tank—in fact, even in the 1990s, alongside the main M1 and the last M60s in service, there were also light tanks: the M551 Sheridan and (formally) the M8.

Anders is dead, time for Booker—the light tank for the US Army

After the withdrawal of the first and the cancellation of the order for the second, a gap appeared in the US Army's capabilities in the area of light, highly mobile fire support vehicles, only partially filled by the M1128 MGS (now also withdrawn). Currently, the M10 Booker is set to fill this gap, and the operational tests that began on 8 July, conducted with the participation of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, confirm the intention to introduce the vehicle into service.

The road to Booker

Since the withdrawal of the M551 Sheridan in 1996, the US Army has not had a light tank, although it was believed that such a vehicle should be in the arsenal of airmobile troops (three active divisions: 11th, 82nd, and 101st). Even during Sheridan's service, efforts were made several times to replace it, but without success. The M8 Buford came closest to entering service. The US Army planned to buy 237 tanks weighing 15.9 tonnes (without additional armour, up to 23.2 tonnes maximum), capable of being transported aboard a C-130 Hercules (or even three—besides four HMMWVs—aboard a C-17) and armed with a 105 mm M35 cannon. Despite the decision to introduce the tank into service and the start of production in 1996, the programme was cancelled after producing seven prototype and test vehicles. Later, the vehicle was offered to the US Army several times.

For about a decade, there was a possibility that the Abrams would not just be supplemented but partially replaced by a light tank under the Future Combat Systems programme. The XM1202 was to be one variant of the relatively light (up to approximately 29.9 tonnes) multi-purpose modular vehicle family MGV. The idea was revolutionary, but significant losses suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan by very similar Strykers (the Stryker programme is essentially a "pilot" form of introducing the MGV tracked concept) led to the programme being cancelled in 2009. Consequently, the US Army infantry was left without tanks, and the Stryker brigades had only M1128 support vehicles.

The idea of introducing a light tank in the American infantry and airmobile units returned in 2015. During military operations, manoeuvres, and simulations, it was established that American light formations are... too "light," i.e., they lack armoured vehicles capable of supporting infantry on the battlefield. They are essential for airmobile units dropped from aircraft beyond the range of enemy air defences to reach their targets. The answer to this need was a new light tank called Mobile Protected Firepower (the US Army temporarily borrowed a small batch of LAV-25 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles from the USMC). Three companies entered the competition for an order of over 500 tanks (initially 14 for each infantry brigade and optionally for Stryker brigades): BAE Systems with the ELT tank (a modernised M8), GDLS with Griffin (a deeply modified GDELS ASCOD chassis with a new turret), and ST Kinetics with NGAFV with the John Cockerill 3105 turret.

The first to drop out of the programme was the Asian company, and in 2021, BAE Systems faced problems—they had difficulties delivering the contracted test vehicles on time. In June 2022, the US Army finally selected GDLS as the contract executor, later giving Griffin the formal designation M10 Booker (originally, the MPF tank was to be designated M1302). Simultaneously, GDLS received a contract worth 1.1 billion USD to deliver the first batch of 96 tanks, of which 24 will be used for testing. Ultimately, the US Army will receive the 504 tanks above (with the possibility of ordering another 100-200), which will be distributed among the so-called standard light divisions by the Army 2028 concept, with one battalion (42 tanks) in each. Next year, the first will be formed in the 82nd Airborne Division under 3-73 Armour Thunderbolts.

Booker—what is it like?

The M10 Booker has, as the manufacturer claims, the "DNA of the Abrams" in its turret. This means that the light tank turret uses solutions employed in the much heavier main battle tank (incidentally from the same manufacturer) and developed for unrealised Abrams variants. The Booker is much lighter, weighing 37.5 tonnes (41.3 tonnes with additional armour). It's still not insubstantial, and there's no question of transport aboard a Hercules, and only two tanks will fit into a C-17. The relatively large chassis, borrowed from an infantry fighting vehicle (the engine is at the front), indicates that armour is not particularly impressive at this weight.

The armament consists of a 105 mm rifled M35 cannon, a 7.62 mm M240B machine gun, and an additional 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun mounted on the turret. The vehicle has a modern fire control system similar to the M1A2 SEPv3. The MTU 8V199 TE23 engine with 804 horsepower, coupled with the Allison 3040 MX automatic transmission, ensures good traction performance. The vehicle has hydropneumatic suspension by Horstmann. It can reach speeds up to 71 km/h on paved roads. The crew consists of four soldiers.

In other armies

Vehicles more or less similar to the Booker are used in many armies. In Russia, the Airborne Troops have the light tank (officially a self-propelled gun) 2S25 Sprut-SD, with almost the same armament as the main T-72 or T-90, but with "paper-thin" armour. With a classic design in Indonesia, the Turkish-Indonesian Harimau has entered service. The lighter weight allows it to operate in difficult Indonesian terrain where heavier Leopard 2s cannot go, fulfilling a similar role to the Israeli-Spanish-American Sabrah in the Philippines. The true "masters" of light tanks are the Chinese, producing two different types simultaneously: the amphibious ZBD-05, designed for an invasion of Taiwan, and the more classic Type 15, constructed for operations in Tibet and on the border with India. This latter design led India to develop its own light tank. The recently presented Zorawar is to serve on the border with China in the contentious Ladakh region.

Returning for a moment to the USA, it is likely that the country will see a second light tank in the next several years, albeit an unmanned one—such a vehicle is to be developed under the RCV-H programme.

Over time, a futuristic mobile model, the PL-01 Concept, on the Swedish CV90120 chassis, was also presented (the model's design is regularly used by companies worldwide as "their own future tank!"). In 2012-13, the Rydwan and, finally, the Gepard programmes were launched. The latter programme was ultimately canceled around 2020 when it was decided that developing a light tank was pointless.

Modern light tanks are very specialised vehicles intended for airborne troops, mountain troops, or for operations in other difficult conditions. If there is anything to regret, it is that based on Anders, Rydwan, or Gepard, a successful family of tracked vehicles could have been created, such as heavy infantry fighting vehicles, various support vehicles, or even a new chassis for the Crab, which would have freed us from dependence on the South Korean product.