nothing like that. It’s somebody they can trust to keep intellectual property safe. They design the testing equipment in house, then this guy will sorta do a redesign in his house. Add to this dynos and test stands are his only business. Tacom will demand three bids, but that’s as far as that goes. With past experience; I doubt TACOM will yell louder than a slight whimper. Smaller testing equipment may be made in house, and even that is now suspect. Plus there is a time factor to deal with. Gauging equipment will take priority, and now days that may be an issue. The real issue is who is gonna build it, and not when. They pretty much avoid job shops these days as over half of their work has to be done over (they have two or three shops they will work with).
What will be interesting is how they will deal with the electric drive. Keep in mind that building tanks is a small scale operation, and also labor intensive. The staff doing the electronic development is already in house, but there is not much production wise. I would expect them to buy a small building in the area and revamp it to their needs. They’ll want to keep it close by, but will also expect it to end up near Cummins in Columbus Indiana. Cummins has the room, but does not have the hybrid drive experience Allison has.
gary
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I think the exhaust issue has been explored before.
What I do not understand is the fume issue from the breach. The bore evac is not working? I have loaded/ fired M 48’s, M 60’s, and M1A1’s. they all work just OK. Is the problem the fumes from the spent shell’s? There is no practical way if the turret hatches are open to deal with the fumes… You could not have a positive or negative pressure system. You could pressurize the breach to blow out more of the fumes but the shell casing will end up smoking on the floor.
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actually you’re wrong as well as you are right. I remember setting in on a meeting once, and the selling price for the M1 tank gear box came up. It was going for $447,000 @ 30 units a month (or as low as 20). Yet when they were building 95 a month the price was about $150,000. Someone ask why don’t we just build a few hundred of them and place them in storage. TACOM nixed the idea. The reason for the cost is that it’s low volume and very labor intensive. If you build ten gear boxes a month; you still have the same folks running the same machines. Then to compound all this is the folks from TACOM running the show. They are incompetent idiots!! No better way to describe them. It was said once that if they left the building and let Allisons just run the show; it would show about a 30%-40% in cost reduction with the same quality.
Profit wise; there’s not much to gain with military contracts. Usually around 11% to 14% profit, while the commercial areas are close to 18%. Commercial products are where it’s at, and if your product is good the world will beat a path to your front door
gary
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They design highways the same way. They update for current usage, not future usage. That is why a project is at capacity when it is finished. if they designed for future traffic, the road would not be crowded when the project finishes.
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and the factory will be called?
Booker Makers?
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Now been given a second lease of life … Only taken a few Billion though 
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I wonder if the M10’s AJAX chassis will spawn other variants such as SHORAD, 155mm SPH, APC, IFV, etc. This could be the 40-ton Future Combat System chassis that the US Army struggled to field.
From AUSA.
"The M10 Booker is one of the Army’s first major combat vehicles produced since the 1980s. The design includes a 105 mm main gun, armor, smoke grenade launchers, blowoff panels and automatic fire suppression, intended to enhance survivability against direct and indirect fire, rocket-propelled grenades and underbody threats.
The vehicle has a diesel engine and will be operated by a four-soldier crew."
Photo by: AUSA/Gina Cavallaro
U.S. Army courtesy photo
Thursday, July 13, 2023
DEFENCE BLOG
US Army awards contract to GDLS for more M10 combat vehicles
NEWSARMYPRESS RELEASES
ByColton Jones
Jul 13, 2023
Modified date: 11 seconds ago
U.S. Army courtesy photo
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) announced last week that it was awarded a $257.6 million U.S. Army contract modification for the second phase of M10 Booker Low Rate Initial Production of the newly named M10 Booker Combat Vehicle, formerly known as Mobile Protected Firepower.
According to a press release from GDLS, this latest award calls up 26 additional Booker vehicles.
Designed by General Dynamics Land Systems, the highly lethal, survivable and mobile direct-fire combat vehicle melds recently developed and battle-tested designs to dominate ground threats on the multi-domain battlefield. The Booker employs a four-person crew and features an enhanced thermal viewer, a large-caliber cannon, a lightweight hull and turret, and a modern diesel engine, transmission and suspension system. It has been designed from the start for capability upgrades, based on future operational needs.
“We are honored to continue to manufacture the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle,” said Gordon Stein, General Dynamics Land Systems vice president and general manager for U.S. operations. “The M10 provides enhanced firepower for the Army’s Infantry Brigade Combat Teams and has been purpose-built to give them decisive lethality, mobility and survivability on current and future battlefields.
“We are proud that our years of innovation, research, development and investment have led to this solution for U.S. Soldiers,” Stein said.
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Now watch GDLS win the contract for the XM30 MICV to replace the M2 Bradley
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last I heard they were going to build it at the Warren MI tank plant. I think G.M. may still own it, but they may have sold it to GDLS back in the mid eighties. I’ve been in it once or twice watching them assemble Abrams tanks (mostly sub assemblies). Where they will build the M10 is still up in the air. Warren would also be perfect
gary
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Glad to see the Mobile Infantry have got their new wagon.
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the Future Combat System was supposed to be no more that 20 tons for each variant
Not exactly. When fully loaded, it was around 30 tons, which is more than the C-130 can handle.
The 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Liberty started the initial operational test and evaluation of the M10 Booker today! The testing will encompass a wide-range of events, such as new equipment training for both operators and maintainers, gunnery, collective training sessions for Soldiers, and force-on-force exercises. The collection of test events and data are designed to furnish comprehensive reports, crucial for informing future production decisions within the Army and validating the requirements and operational concept for the M10 Booker.
From LinkedIn
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Do you want to know more?
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