The new generation light tank M10 "Booker" of the US military. Recently, the US Department of Defense released a memorandum on "Army Transformation and Procurement Reform", launching a new round of "transformation" for the US Army. The news of the cancellation of the M10 "Booker" light tank project, which had only been in service for one year, has sparked heated discussions. Since the retirement of the M551 Sheridan light tank in the 1990s, the US Army has not been equipped with light tanks for a long time, and the mobile direct fire of infantry units mainly relies on air support. In recent years, with the adjustment of the US military strategic focus, the US Army has introduced the concept of "multi domain operations", emphasizing rapid deployment capabilities and complex environment combat capabilities. Through this, the "Mobile Fire Protection" project has been proposed, with plans to produce 504 light tanks and equip 12 independent light tank battalions by 2035 to enhance the mobility and sustainability of ground accompanying support firepower for infantry brigades. In June 2023, the US military unveiled a new generation of light tanks, codenamed M10 "Booker". In June 2024, the first batch of 24 "Booker" light tanks officially entered service and were delivered to the 82nd Airborne Division for operational testing. As the main combat equipment of the US Army Infantry Brigade, the design intention of the "Booker" light tank is to perform joint operations in multi domain combat conditions. Therefore, strategic delivery capability is an important technical indicator. According to the initial design requirements, the combat weight of the vehicle should not exceed 35 tons, and one C-17 transport aircraft can carry two vehicles at the same time. However, during the research and development process, the US and Chinese armies repeatedly modified the technical specifications, ultimately resulting in a combat weight of up to 42 tons after the vehicle was finalized. A C-17 transport plane can only carry one vehicle, which is equivalent to the air transport efficiency of the M1 main battle tank with a weight of over 70 tons. US Army officials have pointed out that "this violates both the air transport principle and the light tank principle". In addition, the power of its prototype car is far below the design standard. In order to meet the design standards, the car had to be equipped with a more powerful engine, resulting in a reduction in its maximum range from 480 kilometers to 305 kilometers. It can be said that the overweight "Booker" only has the name of a light tank without substance, and is in an awkward situation of "not being able to run fast and walk far" on the battlefield. The main gun of the "Booker" light tank is the M35 105mm rifled gun, which has defects such as weak armor piercing ability, limited compatibility with ammunition models, and low combat firing rate. This gun is only equipped with M900 series armor piercing shells and AMP multi-purpose shells. When firing M900A1 tail stabilized shell armor piercing shells with depleted uranium core, the armor piercing thickness at a distance of 2000 meters is about 450 to 500 millimeters, making it difficult to penetrate the frontal armor of active main battle tanks; When facing armored targets with good protection performance, their power is also insufficient. The AMP multi-purpose bomb has the capabilities of armor breaking, armor fragmentation, and anti infantry, but its functions are "comprehensive but not precise". The US Army evaluated it as "neither sufficient to destroy reinforced targets nor as effective as 30mm chain guns against soft targets". In short, the outdated technical and tactical indicators of the main gun make it difficult for it to gain firepower advantage against advanced main battle tanks and light tanks on future battlefields, and cannot provide reliable firepower support for infantry. The prototype of the "Booker" light tank weighs 38 tons, and the US military has taken measures such as reducing the weight of the load-bearing wheels and using hollow load-bearing wheels to reduce its weight. However, as a result, the body can only withstand direct fire from 14.5mm armor piercing rounds at a distance of 500 meters. In addition, the vehicle also has problems such as short maximum range, loud noise inside during off-road driving, short average distance between failures, and smoke backflow after artillery firing, which affect the performance of combat capabilities. In addition, due to weight limitations, the vehicle is not equipped with an active protection system, making it difficult to cope with attacks from anti tank missiles and drones. The discontinuation of the "Booker" light tank project has long been traceable. In April 2020, its prototype vehicle went offline, and two years later, the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out. During this period, various unmanned equipment and advanced anti armor weapons destroyed a large number of tanks and armored vehicles, including American made equipment such as M1 main battle tanks, M2 infantry fighting vehicles, and Stryker armored vehicles. This regional conflict is considered to have "changed the form of ground combat", and anti drone strikes and enhancing active protection capabilities have become issues faced by tanks and armored vehicles. In this context, the "Booker" light tank is unable to meet the needs of the battlefield in terms of firepower, protection, and mobility, and faces the embarrassment of being "outdated upon enlistment". The US media even referred to it as a "useless piece of wood" that the US Army did not need, and the cancellation of its project was also seen as a "stop loss" action for the US Army's strategic adjustment. From the deployment dilemma caused by weight loss control to the awkward balance of firepower, maneuverability, and protection; From the demand mismatch brought about by the drastic changes in the strategic environment, to the timely "stop loss" of the horse in the end. The "Booker" project has become a microcosm of the current situation of the US military, and perhaps only the authorities know the taste best. (New Society)