The Army’s M-10 Booker (Formerly Known as Mobile Protected Firepower [MPF]) System

What Is the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) System?

The Army's MPF system is intended to address an operational shortfall in infantry units:

Currently the Army's Infantry Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT) do not have a combat vehicle assigned that is capable of providing mobile, protected, direct, offensive fire capability.... The MPF solution is an integration of existing mature technologies and components that avoids development which would lengthen the program schedule.

Operationally, the Army wants the MPF to be able to

[n]eutralize enemy prepared positions and bunkers and defeat heavy machine guns and armored vehicle threats during offensive operations or when conducting defensive operations against attacking enemies.

In terms of the Army's overall procurement plans for MPF,

[t]he Army Acquisition Objective (AAO) for MPF is 504 vehicles, with 14 MPFs per IBCT. The targeted fielding for the First Unit Equipped (FUE) is Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.

MPF Redesignated as the M-10 Booker

On June 14, 2023, the Army announced the redesignation of the MPF as the M-10 Booker infantry assault vehicle. According to the Army,

The vehicle platform honors two enlisted Army soldiers who served our nation selflessly during times of great conflict – Medal of Honor recipient Private. Robert D. Booker, who perished in World War II, and Distinguished Service Cross recipient Staff Sergeant Stevon A. Booker, who died from injuries sustained in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

M-10 Acquisition Strategy

In November 2017, the Army issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase and, in order to maximize competition, planned to award up to two Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) contracts for the EMD phase in early FY2019.

On December 17, 2018, the Army awarded two Section 804 MTA Rapid Prototyping contracts for MPF. The two companies awarded contracts were General Dynamic Land Systems (GDLS), Inc. (Sterling Heights, MI) and BAE Systems Land and Armaments, LP (Sterling Heights, MI). Each MTA Rapid Prototyping contract was not to exceed $376 million. The MTA Rapid Prototyping contracts required delivery of 12 preproduction vehicles (from each vendor) for developmental and operational testing, and a Soldier Vehicle Assessment (SVA).

M-10 Program Status

The SVA reportedly began in January 2021 at Fort Bragg, NC—without the BAE prototypes because of production challenges—with testing scheduled to run through June 2021. While BAE was unable to provide prototypes at the beginning of testing, prototypes were eventually provided to the Army for testing. During the assessment, soldiers evaluated GDLS and BAE M-10 prototypes in a variety of operational scenarios.

MPF Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Contract Awarded

On June 28, 2022, the Army announced the award of a $1.14 billion contract to GDLS for the production and fielding of up to 96 M-10 systems (Figure 1). Delivery of the first LRIP M-10 system was expected in 19 months, and Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation was planned for the end of FY2024. The first unit equipped was scheduled for the fourth quarter of FY2025, consisting of a battalion of 42 M-10s. Each LRIP M-10 system was expected to cost about $12.8 million. Full-Rate Production M-10 systems were expected to cost less than LRIP variants, including modifications based on Operational Testing and Evaluation results. On August 22, 2024, GDLS announced the Army had awarded GDLS a $322.7 million contract for continued M-10 LRIP, with the work to be done in Sterling Heights, MI; Anniston, AL; Lima, OH; Tallahassee, FL; and Scranton, PA, with an estimated completion date of October 20, 2026.

Future M-10 Fielding

The Army's M-10 acquisition objective was for 504 systems for the active Army and National Guard, with Army officials reportedly noting that this number could vary "slightly." Under current Army plans, four M-10 battalions were to be fielded by 2030, with the bulk of the planned acquisition scheduled to be completed by 2035. Reportedly, the Army planned for the M-10 to enter service with the 10^th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY; the 82^nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC; and the 101^st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY, starting the fourth quarter FY2025.

Figure 1. GDLS M-10 Variant

Source: General Dynamics, "General Dynamics Land Systems Wins U.S. Army Competition for Mobile Protected Firepower Vehicles," June 29, 2022.

FY2022 Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Report

In January 2023, the Department of Defense's Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Report (DOT&E) issued its annual report on the previous fiscal year's test and evaluation activities. The report noted the M-10's progress toward achieving operational effectiveness was "satisfactory." The report also noted, "Developmental testing found the M-10 had high levels of toxic fumes when firing the main gun, requiring modifications to crew procedures during firing to mitigate the build-up of fumes in the turret."

M-10 Testing

Reportedly, the M-10 was undergoing a series of tests to determine what modifications may be needed prior to full rate production. In early July 2024, soldiers at Fort Bragg, NC, began new equipment training lasting through August or September 2024. Reportedly, final testing was planned to be conducted at Fort Bragg in January and February 2025. If final testing was successful, the M-10 was to be sent to an Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) event to determine what near-term and long-term changes GDLS would need to make to the system. The IOT&E test event, if successful, was to result in a FRP decision in the April to June 2025 timeframe. Also, reportedly, in response to DOT&E's January 2023 report, the Army and GDLS "have worked on several vehicle fixes including two larger items: toxic fumes and cooling."

M-10 Program Canceled

On May 1, 2025, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Chief of Staff of the Army General Randy A. George published "Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative." This letter was in response to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's April 30, 2025, memorandum for senior Pentagon leadership titled "Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform." The Army Transformation Initiative directive stated, among other things, that the Army would "end procurement of obsolete systems, and cancel or scale back ineffective or redundant programs."

According to reports, on May 1, 2025 Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced that he was cancelling the M-10 program, noting,

The Booker is a classic example of sunk cost fallacy and the Army doing something wrong ... What came out of our procurement system wasn't good and what would have historically happened is we would have kept buying this to build out some number of Bookers, and then in decades in the future, we would have switched.

Reportedly, the Army has already taken delivery of about 80 M-10s but would not buy additional vehicles.

Potential Oversight Considerations for Congress

The Army's May 1, 2025, M-10 decision arguably lacks sufficient detail needed for congressional oversight. Some potential questions include the following:

• Does the Army plan to issue detailed guidance on how it plans to implement cancellation of M-10 procurement?
• What does the Army plan to do with the M-10s that have already been procured from GDLS? Will these systems be fielded to units or placed in an inactive status?
• If the Army decides to field its procured M-10 systems, how does it plan to sustain them? How will spare M-10 parts and components be procured?
• How does the M-10 cancellation affect the Army's ability to provide offensive fire support to IBCTs?
• What is the Army's expected cost savings associated with cancelling the M-10 program?
• How will the M-10 cancellation affect the armored fighting vehicle industrial base, particularly small business suppliers?