

The Army announced in 2021 that it was seeking replacements for its Stryker armored fighting vehicles, which have an outdated cannon and autoloader and lack protection against anti-tank mines.ĭean said the Booker’s design has not been shaped by lessons from Ukraine, a war that is “too young for drawing the sorts of conclusions that would change requirements” for a combat vehicle. That unit, which he did not identify, would handle operational testing of the new vehicles. Dean said the first production models will be delivered in November, with enough to equip a first battalion by late 2024 or early 2025. ammunition factories might strain to make enough 105mm rounds, some of which are being shipped to Ukraine. has enough 105mm rounds for training, said Assistant Army Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Doug Bush during the briefing.Īn April report by the Congressional Research Service said U.S.

“I can confidently say today that that is an issue that is behind us,” Dean told reporters on Thursday.Īmphibious Warship To Be Named for Fallujah BattlesĪrmy Retention on Track, Even as Recruiting Struggles Glenn Dean, program executive officer for ground combat systems.

The Army has fixed a previously reported problem in which the gun turret filled up with toxic fumes, said Maj. A recent GAO report called the Booker a “bright spot” in Army acquisition and noted its successful use of rapid prototyping. The 38-ton vehicle can be transported by air. The $18 million Booker is an armored, tracked vehicle designed to support infantry during assaults by destroying enemy bunkers and lightly armored vehicles with its 105mm gun. The designation also echoes the M10 tank destroyer used in WWII. Robert Booker, who was killed in World War II while attacking a German machine-gun post, for which he posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

Army’s 2003 surprise strike on Baghdad, later dubbed the “thunder run.” It also honors Pvt. Stevon Booker, a tank commander who was killed in action during the U.S. The vehicle produced by the Mobile Protected Firepower program will now be known as the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle. The Army’s new assault gun will be the first combat vehicle named for a post-9/11 soldier, Army leaders said Thursday, adding that they’d fixed problems such as toxic gun exhaust filling the turret.
