M10 Booker: Fallen soldiers who gave US Army's new combat vehicle its name remembered

The US Army has christened the M10 Booker – its newest combat vehicle – in a ceremony honouring the two soldiers who gave the vehicle its name.

Three production M10 Bookers have been delivered to the Army so far.

The dedication ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland paid tribute to the two medal-winners called Booker from whom the M10 took its name.

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Private Robert D Booker won the Medal of Honor after advancing on an enemy position in Tunisia during the Second World War. He was hit, but carried on firing his weapon until he was hit a second time, this time fatally.

Staff Sergeant Stevon A Booker was killed on 5 April 2003 while testing the strength of enemy defences in an operation known as a Thunder Run during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Over the next two years, the US Army will put the M10 through a series of tests which will include firing thousands of rounds of ammunition and driving thousands of miles to understand the reliability and maintainability of the vehicle.

"We will also put the vehicle through production qualification and testing in desert, arctic, temperate and tropical conditions, challenging it with obstacles like gaps and walls to scale, and engaging it with real-word threats to ensure its survivability," said programme executive Major General Glenn Dean.

The vehicle will also be involved in an operational test with the 82nd Airborne Division, with the 82nd expecting to field the first operational company in the summer of 2025.

Some defence commentators have called the M10 a light tank but, despite its appearance, the US Army does not refer to it as such.

The US Army argues that at around 40 tonnes it is neither light, nor does it fulfil the role of a light tank, which is usually reconnaissance.

Instead, it is designed to offer infantry support, being equipped with a 105mm main gun – the same weapon that was fitted to early versions of the M1 Abrams.

The M10 Booker Dedication Ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground ended with a live-fire demonstration.