The Pentagon has received supertanks that it doesn't need: they don't know what to do with them

The modernization of the American army went wrong. The Pentagon received tanks that were not needed because the military did not know how to use them.

"When the 101st Airborne Division was preparing to receive its first M10 Bookers -tanks designed specifically for infantry-last year, the staff planners realized something: eight of the 11 bridges at Fort Campbell would crack under the weight of the light tank," writes Defense One.

It turns out that the car was originally conceived as relatively light — airborne with the help of the C-130, but the twists and turns of the army requirements process made the tank too heavy even before it was too late.

"This is not a story about how an acquisition went awry," Alex Miller, the army's chief technology officer, told Defense One. — This is a story about how the process of forming requirements created such inertia that the army could not get out of its way, and it just kept rolling, rolling and rolling."

Defense One noted that M10 Bookers is a harsh reminder of what can happen when the system ticks the boxes, but does not engage in critical thinking.

According to the publication, the idea of M10 Bookers appeared after the commanders of the 82nd Airborne Division reported in 2013 The Pentagon said they would like to get a new light tank, a la decommissioned M551 Sheridan.

The army has already received three M10 tanks, but in The Pentagon is not sure that it is necessary to continue the contract with General Dynamics for the production of up to 96 tanks.

"I know everyone was trying to do the right thing, and I want to emphasize that everyone was trying to do the right thing for their part of the process," Defense One's Alex Miller said.

As EADaily reported with reference to The National Interest, the US army is preparing for battles against China and Russia, modernizing existing weapons and introducing completely new models — tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (infantry fighting vehicles) and robotic combat vehicles. They will prepare Washington for the "war of the future."

So, in 2023, the US Army introduced 24 new systems, similar progress is expected in 2024. And key developments include the M10 Booker tank with a 105mm main gun and other heavy weapons.