Hunter Killer : The True Story of the Drone Mission That Killed Anwar Al-Awlaki

The first-ever inside look at the US military’s secretive Remotely Piloted Aircraft program—equal parts techno-thriller, historical account, and war memoir Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), commonly referred to by the media as drones , are a mysterious and headline-making tool in the military’s counterterrorism arsenal. Their story has been pieced together by technology reporters, major newspapers, and on-the-ground accounts from the Middle East, but it has never been fully told by an insider. In Hunter Killer , Air Force Lt. Col. T. Mark McCurley provides an unprecedented look at the aviators and aircraft that forever changed modern warfare. This is the first account by an RPA pilot, told from his unique-in-history vantage point supporting and executing Tier One counterterrorism missions. Only a handful of people know what it’s like to hunt terrorists from the sky, watching through the electronic eye of aircraft that can stay aloft for a day at a time, waiting to deploy their cutting-edge technology to neutralize threats to America’s national security. Hunter Killer is the counterpoint to the stories from the battlefront told in books like No Easy Day and American Sniper : While special operators such as SEALs and Delta Force have received a lot of attention in recent years, no book has ever told the story of the unmanned air war. Until now. About the Authors LT . COL. T. MARK McCURLEY is a retired Air Force pilot and former intelligence operator. In 2003, he volunteered for the secretive Predator program, deploying five times to Iraq,Afghanistan, and other locations, where he has flown the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper, accruing more than one thousand combat hours in flight. KEVIN MAURER is an award-winning journalist and the bestselling coauthor, with Mark Owen, of No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden . He has covered special operations forces for a decade. The first-ever inside look at the US military#8217;s secretive Remotely Piloted Aircraft program#8212;equal parts techno-thriller, historical account, and war memoir Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), commonly referred to by the media as drones , are a mysterious and headline-making tool in the military#8217;s counterterrorism arsenal. Their story has been pieced together by technology reporters, major newspapers, and on-the-ground accounts from the Middle East, but it has never been fully told by an insider. In Hunter Killer , Air Force Lt. Col. T. Mark McCurley provides an unprecedented look at the aviators and aircraft that forever changed modern warfare. This is the first account by an RPA pilot, told from his unique-in-history vantage point supporting and executing Tier One counterterrorism missions. Only a handful of people know what it#8217;s like to hunt terrorists from the sky, watching through the electronic eye of aircraft that can stay aloft for a day at a time, waiting to deploy their cutting-edge technology to neutralize threats to America#8217;s national security. Hunter Killer is the counterpoint to the stories from the battlefront told in books like No Easy Day and American Sniper : While special operators such as SEALs and Delta Force have received a lot of attention in recent years, no book has ever told the story of the unmanned air war. Until now The firsthand account of the hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki—and the drone squadron that found him. In September 2011, with Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden both dead, the United States pinpointed American-born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki as priority target number one. In order to eliminate the threat, Air Force Lt. Col. T. Mark McCurley and his squadron were called upon to turn their RPAs’ main function as tracking and surveillance devices into strategic weapons. Much was resting on the mission—al-Awlaki was the face of al-Qaeda propaganda, and his loss would have serious repercussions in AQ’s recruitment efforts. The Air Force had only a limited amount of time and firepower—it was up to McCurley and his Predators to neutralize the threat before al-Awlaki disappeared underground forever. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), commonly referred to as drones, have become the new face of modern warfare, and Lt. Col. McCurley provides an insider look at the evolution of the RPA program. No book has ever told the story of the drones and the pilots who fly them. Until now. With an unprecedented bird's-eye view, Lt. Col. McCurley details the start of their sixty-day surveillance of al-Awlaki up through the day the drones were ordered to take the shot, when the war on terror experienced a critical success. Welcome to Predator Learning to fly Fight's on Tier One The shot heard 'round the world Sparkle Pattern of life Strike Never alone Hunting Taliban Steel Curtain Keeping up with the Joneses 23 seconds Camp Cupcake Command Losses A fine mess East Africa Air pirates Tightening the noose Al-Awlaki. An insider's tour of the U.S. military's secret Remotely Piloted Aircraft program discusses how drones work and their potential for neutralizing security threats