General Dynamics gets $13M contract for Booker combat vehicles

General Dynamics will deliver additional Booker combat vehicles to the Army, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

In a modification to an earlier contract, the company will build the M10 Booker for approximately $13.1 million by an estimated completion date of June 18, 2025 with the work taking place in Sterling Heights, MI; Anniston, AL; and Lima, OH, the announcement reads.

General Dynamics received an earlier contract in June 2023 for low-rate production of the vehicle, a year after being selected for the low-rate initial production phase.

The Army expects to procure 33 M10 vehicles in fiscal year 2024 and will decide on full-rate production in the second quarter of FY-25 with the first units to be equipped later the same year, according to budget documents.

Armed with a 105mm gun, the M10 is designed to neutralize light armored vehicles, fortifications and dismounted personnel, according to a Defense Department report.

The vehicle will fill an operational shortfall to provide light infantry units with direct fire support, a capability the Army has lacked since the retirement of the M551 Sheridan light tank in 1997, according to Infantry magazine.

During the 1990s, the Army developed and later canceled plans to field the M8 Armored Gun System, a tracked vehicle also armed with a 105mm gun, the magazine adds. In the 2000s, the Army acquired the Stryker M1128 Mobile Gun System but divested from the platform following performance and engineering issues.

Initially called the Mobile Protected Firepower, the Army named the M10 after two fallen soldiers, Medal of Honor recipient Pvt. Robert Booker and Distinguished Service Cross recipient Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker.