That’s a tad harsh. The TACOM guys I"ve met on various posts are very accommodating, allowing me access to vehicles that others don’t usually get. They even let my daughter TC a Bradley once. She was thrilled.
At Ft. Liberty, 82nd Airborne. Photo by PEO Ground Systems, LinkedIn.
The Patriot worked from the outset, even in the Gulf War. The problem was that it was an antiaircraft system pressed into service as an anti-tactical ballistic missile system. For AA use its blast/fragmentation warhead with proximity fuzing was adequate to shoot down any aircraft. For the ATBM role however it is necessary to hit the target and detonate the warhead well away from the target and high in the atmosphere; simply shredding the missile and causing the fuselage and warhead to impact the ground relatively intact away from the target was, perhaps, tolerable in a battlefield situation but not when defending urban areas.
By the criteria of the critics of Patriot in the Gulf War, fighters and antiaircraft guns didn’t “work” in WW II either, because every enemy bomber shot down still crashed into the ground and spilled their bombs in the defended country.
KL
a Sherman Jumbo comes in at 82,600 LBS
https://defence-blog.com/us-army-secures-322m-for-m10-booker-production/
Photo by Laura Tickle via Defence Blog
I wonder what the ERA package will look like and what the final up armored version will weigh in at? I don’t see any .50 cal equipment or the technical communication, wind sensors, ETC… on the roof either.
The M10 Booker is a derivative of the Spanish-Austrian Infantry Combat Vehicle Platform (ASCOD), a family of vehicles that consists of the Spanish Army’s Pizarro, the Austrian ULAN, and the British AJAX.
The US Army is pretty mum about the technical specifications on the M10 Booker and I don’t think they ever released the details such as the number of rounds carried, the armor specifications, the exact weight, the interior photos, etc.
The best close-up info was that video taken at TACOM with the base’s commander, a Lt. Colonel, and the walk-around the vehicle.
Photos from DVIDS:
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Geoffrey A. Norman the director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, gives his remarks on the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle during the M10 Booker Dedication Ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Aberdeen, Md., April 18, 2024. The M10 Booker Combat Vehicle delivers overwhelming precision firepower to the Infantry Brigade, allowing it to maintain momentum and freedom of action against enemy forces. As part of the dedication of the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle in their name, U.S. Army Pvt. Robert D. Booker, a Medal of Honor recipient, and infantryman, assigned to the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, during World War II, and Staff Sgt. Booker, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient, and tank crewman, assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, were recognized and honored for their ultimate sacrifice, heroism and commitment to service and country, represented by family members during the ceremony. (U.S. Army photo by Christopher Kaufmann)
The M10 Booker displayed at it’s dedication ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md., April 18, 2024. As part of the dedication of the M10 Booker Combat Vehicle in their name, Pvt. Booker, a Medal of Honor recipient, and infantryman, assigned to the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, during World War II, and Staff Sgt. Stevon A. Booker, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient, and tank crewman, assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, will be recognized and honored for their ultimate sacrifice, heroism and commitment to service and the country, represented by family members during the ceremony. (U.S. Army photo by Christopher Kaufmann)
A live fire demonstration of the Army’s newest and most modernized combat vehicle, the M10 Booker, marks the conclusion of the M10 Booker Dedication Ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Aberdeen, Md., April 18, 2024. (U.S. Army photo by Christopher Kaufmann)
PD1 - Delivery of First Production Vehicle M10 Booker Combat Vehicle
Better than Sheridan I suppose.
[quote=“Maximus8425, post:36, topic:30899, full:true”]
Glad to see the Mobile Infantry have got their new wagon.
I had to look twice; my initial impression was that the figure in the center was Obersturmbannfuhrer Doogie Howser…
The M10 Booker is a derivative of… …the British AJAX.
You are SO screwed…
Cheers,
M
A lot better because M10 Booker has a 105mm gun compared to a 152mm missile launcher gun.
The other contender would be the Textron Commando Stingray II (formerly Cadillac Gage) with 105mm main gun, but I think the armor is thinner because it only weighs around 23 tons. The M10 Booker weighs around 40+ tons.
The Stingray I and II light tanks existed for a long time and are made in the USA. The US Army never really took much interest in them, mainly because I think that their armor is too thin. In fact, their armor rating is advertised publicly online and in books for years. The M10’s armor is Classified.
Stingray Light Tank. Photos from Wikipedia.
I was being sarcastic. I was on Sheridans at NTC and they were heaps of aluminum garbage. Lol
The M551s are still good as cheap OPFOR vehicles with visual modifications.
Not really, they haven’t been used for years since repair parts were running out and were getting hard to source. They broke often due to their age and lots of use and were getting very expensive to run. They have been replaced by M113-based vismods.
I went through 6 engines in a year.
I like the new vehicles that are being VISMOD’d.
Like the HMMWVs being turned into GAZ Tigr trucks.
Hard to tell which ones which from a distance TBH.
Got it. Thanks, Gino.