The new US combat platform: M10 Booker

A new "tank" for the US Army: Although the M10 looks similar to an M1 Abrams tank, the Army has decided not to classify the vehicle as a tank. As a "Mobile Protected Firepower" platform (MPF), this light tank vehicle is designed to support infantry. MPF directly from GDLS.

The Booker is much lighter than the latest versions of the Abrams tanks, which have 120mm main guns. The Army's M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tank weighs almost 74 tons, while the M10 will weigh 42 tons. However, the M10 will be significantly cheaper. The latest Abrams costs about $24 million per tank, but the Bookers are expected to cost about $12.9 million per vehicle, including spare parts and costs for deployment and training.

The Army intends to integrate M10 battalions into its light infantry brigade combat teams, including airborne units. While the vehicle cannot be airdropped, it can be transported by air - two units fit into a C-17 transport aircraft.

The Booker "looks kind of like a tank, smells like a tank, and feels like a tank," says one expert. In fact, the MPF weapon system built by General Dynamics shares many aspects with the Abrams. It is manned by four tank soldiers in a cockpit that is nearly identical to an Abrams, and features a heavy 105mm direct fire cannon, like older Abrams models. The hull is a new design, although it resembles an ASCOD. The new name "Booker" for the MPF pays tribute to two fallen US soldiers with that last name: one in 1943 in Tunisia, the other in 2003 in Iraq.

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