Key Points and Summary: The U.S. Army’s new M10 Booker light tank fills a long-standing capability gap in infantry fire support. Weighing 40 tons and armed with a 105mm cannon, the Booker offers mobility, firepower, and rapid deployment, making it ideal for airborne and urban warfare.
-It enhances U.S. infantry formations by providing much-needed armored support, particularly in contested environments where heavier tanks are unavailable.
M10 Booker Light Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-With four battalions planned by 2030 and a total of 504 units by 2035, the M10 Booker ensures that U.S. forces remain agile and lethal in future conflicts, particularly in great power competition with China and Russia.
M10 Booker: The U.S. Army’s New Light Tank is Ready for Battle
The Army has a new light tank, though at first, the service was hesitant to call it that. Nevertheless, this new armored platform has been named the M10 Booker, and this system will give the United States Army Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) the added ability to smash the teeth out of a perspective enemy’s mouth.
The Need for a New Light Tank
Since the retirement of the M551 Sheridan in 1996, US infantry formations, particularly light infantry, have been operating without a rapidly deployable light tank. This deficit has left a capability gap in firepower between the infantry units’ light weaponry and the heavier tank units. To some extent, this was addressed with the Bradley armored personnel carrier, which was armed with a 30mm cannon.
However, the M10 Booker, with its 105mm cannon, will allow light infantry units to, once again, punch above their weight class when they encounter light to medium armored vehicles, prepared positions such as bunkers and trenches, or an awaiting enemy within or on a building. This capability will prove particularly useful when other platforms, such as air assets or heavier tank units, are assigned to different tasks.
The US Army intends to have four M-10 battalions operational by 2030, with 14 M10s assigned to each IBCT. In sum, the Army plans to acquire 504 of these light tanks, with the bulk of the production run to be completed by 2035.
According to the Army’s plans, the M10 Booker will enter service with the 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne, and the 10th Mountain Division. This process is set to begin in the fourth quarter of FY2025.
Technical Characteristics of the M10 Booker
Beginning with its weight, the M10 weighs 40 tons, compared to the 70-plus ton M1 Abrams main battle tank, increasing agility. It will be operated by a three- to four-person crew: a commander, a driver, and a gunner.
While in battle or on the move, the tank commander will have heightened situational awareness with an enhanced thermal viewer from Safran Optics 1 and the PASEO Commanders Independent Tactical Viewer (from the same company). The latter provides long-range panoramic targeting and enhanced situational awareness.
The M10 Booker Combat Vehicle proudly displays its namesake on the gun tube during the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, June 10, 2023. The M10 Booker Combat Vehicle is named after two American service members: Pvt. Robert D. Booker, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II, and Staff Sgt. Stevon A. Booker, who posthumously received the Distinguished Service Cross for actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their stories and actions articulate the Army’s need for the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle, an infantry assault vehicle that will provide protection and lethality to destroy threats like the ones that took the lives of these two Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Bernardo Fuller)
The M10 Booker will be armed with a 105mm cannon, a 7.62 coaxial machine gun (located on the turret next to the 105), and a top-mounted .50 caliber machine gun. While the 105mm is a pea-shooter compared to the Abrams’ 120mm cannon, it is not designed to slug it out with other tanks but to support the infantry.
Regarding the powerplant, the M10 is equipped with 800 horsepower, a Rolls-Royce MTU 8V, and a 199 PowerPack. This capacity represents the top-selling engine in its power class, with more than 2,500 of its type in use with several armed forces. Competing vehicles include the Spanish Pizarro, Austrian ULA+N, German Boxer, and Polish OPAL vehicles.
This powerful engine provides the M10 Booker with a range of 190 miles and a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour, and it is capable of operating for 24 hours upon entry into an area of operation.
Situations in which the M10 Booker Will Prove Very Useful
Two words: Rapid deployment, two M-10s can be loaded onto a C-17, which can land on austere airfields as short as 3,500 feet long. With this option, any advanced entry force, such as Airborne units, will have heavier firepower to rely on while securing and expanding a base of operations while awaiting heavier follow-on units to consolidate its initial gains.
Conversely, in an already established theater of operations, light infantry units can be rapidly deployed to an enemy’s rear areas to conduct raids on high-value targets or diversionary operations. Such operations will force an enemy to divert resources, create confusion (or panic), and disrupt their operational planning, all of which will generate opportunities for heavier US military formations to exploit.
Boomer M10. Image Credit: U.S. Army.
Light tanks are suited for urban warfare, as they are not as wide or heavy as a main battle tank. This footprint allows a light tank to traverse an urban battlefield with greater ease, bringing much-needed fire support where needed and quickly. This facet will pay dividends in the tight confines of an urban battlefield, where light infantry forces routinely face opposition from enemy units or individuals, such as snipers.
The ability of the M10 Booker to bring more considerable destructive firepower of its 105mm cannon to bear will enable smaller US infantry elements, such as platoons or companies, to overpower and destroy their opposition much more effectively. This is particularly true when such units had relied on the 30mm cannon of the Bradley armored personnel carrier in the past.
The Future of US Infantry Fire Support
The M10 Booker will be entering service when the US military begins a period of prolonged great power competition. This high-stakes competition is primarily between China and Russia, focusing more on the former.
Should this competition become an armed confrontation, the M10 will become a highly prized tool supporting the infantry during a high-intensity fight. Given that both China and Russia have large stocks of armor, the M10 Booker will ensure that US infantry formations are not lack rapidly deployable, agile, effective, and lethal direct-fire support.
About the Author:
Christian P. Martin is a Michigan-based writer; he earned a Master’s degree in Defense & Strategic Studies (Summa cum laude) from the University of Texas, El Paso. Currently, he is a research assistant at the Asia Pacific Security Innovation Forum. Concerning writing, he has published several dozen articles in places like Simple Flying, SOFREP, SOF News, and other outlets.
