U.S. Army cancels M10 Booker light tank programme amid overhaul of defence acquisitions
Summary
Developed by General Dynamics Land Systems under the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) programme launched in 2018, the M10 Booker was intended to provide rapidly deployable fire support for light infantry formations. A particularly critical blow to the programme came when Fort Campbell, home to the 101st Airborne Division, reported that eight of its eleven bridges were structurally incapable of supporting the M10’s weight. The programme’s core mobility objective was compromised as early as 2015, when the Army quietly dropped the air-drop requirement, significantly weakening the operational value of the platform. Revised forecasts suggested that completing the full planned acquisition and support of the M10 Booker would have cost over $17 billion, far exceeding initial projections. In 2024, the Army also terminated the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme, citing changing technological realities and battlefield conditions that favour more flexible and cost-effective alternatives, such as unmanned aerial systems and space-based capabilities.