The US Army has announced that its latest armored vehicle, the M10 Booker, a combat vehicle combining elements of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Abrams tank, is currently undergoing testing at Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) as part of its modernization push.
In its latest statement, the service disclosed details about the ongoing tests while reaffirming its commitment to acquiring more than 500 units of this new armored platform.
YPG test officer Jade Janis stated that the data gathered during the ongoing testing will be used to determine full-rate production, which is expected next summer.
The M10 Booker program was initiated in 2018 as part of the Army’s initiative to equip Infantry Brigade Combat Teams with a highly mobile and protected direct-fire capability.
The vehicle first underwent prototype competition testing at Yuma Proving Ground in 2020, where Janis served as the testing officer for the model that was ultimately chosen. In late February 2024, the Army took delivery of the first M10 Booker vehicle at Anniston Army Depot.
Since then, the service has been subjecting the M10 Booker to extensive testing to guarantee it meets the stringent standards required to provide soldiers with a world-class combat vehicle.
In addition to test-firing its armaments in both natural environments and controlled cold chambers, the platform is undergoing a full range of performance, reliability, accessibility, and maintainability assessments.
According to the service, Test vehicles are navigating harsh desert road courses, scaling steep inclines, and crossing water obstacles, sometimes while carrying a full combat load.
These rigorous trials aim to pave the way for the first operational company of M10 Booker Combat Vehicles to be fielded to the 82nd Airborne Division by the summer of 2025.
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Janis described the M10 as a lightweight infantry vehicle similar in weight to a Bradley but equipped with a larger weapon. The goal is to rapidly deploy the vehicle alongside an infantry combat brigade, with the ability to fit two units inside a C-17 aircraft.
Its diesel engine generates 800 horsepower, enabling speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Janis also noted that many aspects of the M10 will be familiar to experienced tank operators. The turret design shares similarities with the Abrams tank, while the hull is a completely new design.
M10 Booker
The M10 Booker is the Army’s first newly designed combat vehicle in four decades, with plans to equip its initial unit by late fiscal year 2025.
According to the US Army, the Booker is set to deliver mobile, protected direct-fire capabilities that can unleash lethal and sustained long-range strikes against light armored vehicles, fortified enemy positions, and dismounted personnel.
Following the retirement of the Vietnam-era M551A1 Sheridan light tank in 1997, the US Army lacked a lightweight yet heavily armored fire support vehicle equipped with a large-caliber cannon that could be effectively integrated into infantry operations.
Though outdated by the time of its retirement, the Sheridan provided a unique combination of mobility, firepower, and deployability that has not been fully replaced in the Army’s inventory.
Over the following decades, the service relied on a mix of heavier main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to fill the role, but neither the M1 Abrams nor the Bradley Fighting Vehicle fully met the need for a highly mobile, protected, direct-fire support platform tailored for Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs).
Moreover, during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the demand for such a vehicle remained low, as combat requirements focused more on urban warfare, asymmetric threats, and light, mobile forces.
The Army did attempt to bridge the capability gap with a mobile gun system variant of the Stryker, armed with a 105mm cannon, but the platform suffered from multiple issues.
Its aging cannon and autoloader system, combined with limited armor protection and the inherent limitations of a wheeled chassis, prevented it from being a viable long-term solution.
As a result, the Army ultimately divested the system in 2021, leaving infantry units once again without a dedicated direct-fire support vehicle.
However, with shifting global security dynamics and increasing strategic competition from near-peer adversaries such as China and Russia, the Army recognized the need to reinstate a modern, versatile firepower platform. That requirement ultimately gave rise to the M10 Booker.
This new vehicle draws inspiration from both the Abrams and Bradley platforms—two systems that have recently made headlines due to their roles in the Ukraine conflict.
While the Booker borrows the Abrams’ combat lethality, it uses a smaller, 105mm low-recoil tank gun to maintain a balance between firepower and mobility. The M10 Booker is a tracked armored vehicle featuring a 105mm M35 main gun housed in a turret derived from the M1 Abrams design.
It incorporates an advanced fire control system similar to that found in the M1A2 SEPv3 variant and is further equipped with a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a .50-caliber commander’s machine gun.
The vehicle is designed to be operated by a four-member crew—one in the turret and three in the hull—mirroring the crew configuration of the Abrams.
Under the hood, the Booker is powered by an MTU 8V199 TE-22 800-horsepower diesel engine paired with an Allison transmission, which allows it to achieve speeds of up to approximately 40 mph.
Weighing similarly to a Bradley, its hydraulic suspension system is akin to the advanced running gear tested on a Bradley surrogate at Yuma Proving Ground five years ago.
The M10 Booker Debate: A Tank In Disguise?
Even though the Army has officially classified the M10 Booker as an armored infantry support vehicle rather than a battle tank, even mentioning this specifically in the latest announcement, there are still differing views within the service regarding its designation.
In 2023, Doug Bush, the Army’s then-acquisition chief, referred to the Booker as a combat vehicle and avoided engaging in what he described as an “esoteric and borderline religious debate among the armored community” over the definition of a tank.
However, other military leaders have expressed different views. During a press conference on June 13, 2023, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville described the Booker as a light tank, reaffirming a stance he had previously taken in October 2021 at the Association of the US Army conference.
Some officials have been more cautious in their assessments. In 2017, David Dopp, Booker’s former program manager, hesitated to classify it outright but admitted it was “kind of like a light tank.”
Former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth acknowledged the debate and stated during a press conference in 2023 that “some call it a light tank.”
This deliberate shift away from the “light tank” designation appears to be a strategic decision by the Army to ensure the M10 Booker is used as intended, primarily as a direct-fire support vehicle for infantry rather than a tank meant for head-on engagements with enemy armored forces.
A 2019 white paper published by the Association of the US Army sheds light on this naming choice. The authors, two Army officers, argued that avoiding the “light tank” label was meant to discourage soldiers from employing the Booker in traditional tank warfare, where it would be at a disadvantage against heavier main battle tanks.
Despite being smaller than the Abrams, the Booker offers key advantages, including enhanced maneuverability, reduced maintenance requirements, and improved operational flexibility within infantry brigade combat teams.
However, its role is not to replace the Abrams but to complement infantry operations by providing powerful direct-fire capabilities against enemy positions, light armored vehicles, and fortifications. The rebranding effort, therefore, aligns with the Army’s intent to shape its battlefield usage and doctrine.
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