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The U.S Army’s New M10 Booker Light Tank Has Been ‘Terminated’
National Security Journal via MSN ^ | 6 May 2025 | Steve Balestrieri

Posted on 05/06/2025 5:29:39 PM PDT by Apparatchik

Key Points: The US Army's M10 Booker armored vehicle program is criticized as a prime example of a flawed requirements process.

-Initially intended as a lightweight, C-130 airdroppable "light tank" to support airborne and light infantry units, successive requirement additions ("creep") resulted in a 42-ton vehicle too heavy for airdrop and even some base infrastructure, like bridges at Fort Campbell.

-Despite failing its original key criteria, the airdrop requirement was dropped, and the program continued.

-Critics argue the Army now fields a vehicle lacking its intended mission and unique deployability, representing bureaucratic inertia over battlefield need.

-The M10 Booker has now been cancelled.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: army; assaultgun; booker; cancelled; dronebait; m10; tank

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1 posted on 05/06/2025 5:29:39 PM PDT by Apparatchik
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To: Apparatchik

Take that, Putin!!!! We don’t need no tank to defeat you!!!!


2 posted on 05/06/2025 5:33:54 PM PDT by BobL
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To: Apparatchik

Good. It was a tank that nobody wanted and was dead meat on a battlefield. In this day of drones, a tank isn’t going to last.


3 posted on 05/06/2025 5:35:32 PM PDT by ChuckHam
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To: Apparatchik

Surely the defense contractors and members of congress already got their taste.


4 posted on 05/06/2025 5:35:36 PM PDT by Antihero101607
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To: Apparatchik

42 tons “light”.


5 posted on 05/06/2025 5:35:47 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: Apparatchik

Good. Tank warfare is going the way of the dodo. When a 500 dollar drone and warhead can distroy a 12M dollar tank.....


6 posted on 05/06/2025 5:41:52 PM PDT by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and don't wish to smile.)
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To: ChuckHam

“Good. It was a tank that nobody wanted and was dead meat on a battlefield. In this day of drones, a tank isn’t going to last.”
____________________________________________________________

If nothing else, the Russia/Ukraine war has shown the sunset of most armor, certainly in massed formations. When a thousand-dollar drone can neutralize a tank, it’s time for new doctrine.


7 posted on 05/06/2025 5:42:22 PM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king
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To: Apparatchik

Same weight as an M-4 Sherman.


8 posted on 05/06/2025 5:43:18 PM PDT by PAR35
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To: Apparatchik

We don’t need tanks. We need drones.


9 posted on 05/06/2025 5:46:20 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: Apparatchik

find out who pushed the original design and who pushed the original funding...


10 posted on 05/06/2025 5:47:21 PM PDT by sit-rep (START DEMANDING INDICTMENTS NOW!!!!!)
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To: clee1

The time of the armored coffin is long past.


11 posted on 05/06/2025 5:48:24 PM PDT by wally_bert (I cannot be sure for certain, but in my personal opinion I am certain that I am not sure..)
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To: Apparatchik
That National Security Journal at MSN is quite an interesting resource for this thread.

A Delaware entity --. But here is the NSJ in their own information and with the proud photo they publish on their About Page:

National Security Journal's "About US" web page

National Security Journal Inc.
800 N King Street Suite 304
Wilmington, DE 19801

Surely Freepers will greet the National Security Journal 'news' with the same sort of smiling Delaware pride.....
12 posted on 05/06/2025 5:48:47 PM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: Apparatchik

Do we still use the EM 50 ?


13 posted on 05/06/2025 5:49:21 PM PDT by al baby (I know sarcasm )
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To: Apparatchik

-Initially intended as a lightweight, C-130 airdroppable “light tank” to support airborne and light infantry units, successive requirement additions (”creep”) resulted in a 42-ton vehicle too heavy for airdrop and even some base infrastructure, like bridges at Fort Campbell.

****************************************************

“Engineering Change Requests”. Make me want to kill the little bastards after the third or fourth change, but can’t do that.

Best cure - Find them in a very public place with lots of witnesses, drop what’s been done so far in front of them, and tell them “Call me when you decide what you want”, turn around and walk away. Don’t yell, just tell them so others hear clearly.

One of them wouldn’t talk to me for two years.

I delivered when nobody else could and I trained the guys who were reasonable so they could take care of the problem by themselves next time. They were happy with me, and so was the range manager.

Actually a Very Fun job - best job I ever had. Did it for 39 years.


14 posted on 05/06/2025 5:50:38 PM PDT by dagunk
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To: MinorityRepublican

And swarms of them.


15 posted on 05/06/2025 5:51:17 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Apparatchik

The destruction of heavy armor in the fighting inside Ukraine shows you that light armor has no chance of being able to survive. That’s what killed the M-10.


16 posted on 05/06/2025 5:51:30 PM PDT by Tallguy
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To: Apparatchik

I agree with other posters in that drones are making tanks obsolete.

Back in my military days I wanted nothing to do with tanks or ships simply because they were (and still are) death traps. The more sophisticated warfare gets, the deadly these death traps get.


17 posted on 05/06/2025 5:55:00 PM PDT by redfreedom (Happiness is shopping at Walmart and not hearing Spanish once!)
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To: Apparatchik

Something like 80 M10 Booker tanks have already been produced. Maybe they could be placed on the Zumwalt-class destroyers. I say that because I’ve read that the ammunition for the main guns on the Zumwalt destroyers are too expensive to actually use.

So replace those guns with M10 Booker tanks.

See? When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.


18 posted on 05/06/2025 5:56:54 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It’s morning in America. Again)
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To: Apparatchik

We had an “air-droppable” light tank, the Sheridan, back in the 70s. As the saying went, it “was air-droppable—once.” It was “swimmable” too, as I recall, but mostly a costly boondoggle.


19 posted on 05/06/2025 5:59:13 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
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To: Apparatchik

20 posted on 05/06/2025 6:03:29 PM PDT by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh
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