"A riveting account of one of the most significant developments in contemporary warfare – the evolution and proliferation of drones. This is a very important book." – General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition and US Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA
"AQ group in NW Syria confirms a US drone strike earlier this month killed one of the group’s most senior leaders, a veteran Jordanian jihadi who had been the brother-in-law of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." The Al-Monitor report notes "Huras al-Din, an al-Qaeda branch in northwest Syria, released a statement Wednesday saying that Khaled al-Aruri, also …
Continue reading Al Qaeda appears to “confirm” US drone strike
A speech by former Navy Secretary John Lehman. He was there when the US Navy first showed interest in drones. A speech he gave in 1982 is worth listening to. "the Honorable John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy, speaks about the importance of building the U.S. Navy to six hundred ship." https://youtu.be/H9KQKCl9Yc0
A very interesting interview with the former head of CIA clandestine services, Thomas Twetten. In 2011 he talks to host John Bersia "about how important American intelligence services have become since 9/11." He gives an insight into his life in the Kennedy years and after, up through the search for Bin Laden and how the …
Continue reading Voices from the drone wars and intelligence operations:
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Photos from the Special Operations Joint Task Force of OIR show a "soldier lands a drone that carried a box used as a target during a Smart Shooter sighting device familiarization range near At-Tanf Garrison, Syria, May 30, 2020." The caption goes on to note that "Coalition and partner forces regularly …
Continue reading US soldiers at lonely Tanf base practiced shooting down drones with new system
A look at the US Shadow UAV can be seen in photos from May 2020. The captions note there are several soldiers "all with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Deception Co., 8th Brigade Engineer Battalion from Fort Hood, Texas." they work on the "viability" of the Shadow drone system. It is …
US forces practiced with Raven drones.. Those assigned to the 332d Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, were photographed with a Raven B "Digital Data Link" drone on January 24, 2018. Somewhere in Southwest Asia. "After takeoff, the Raven B uses battery power to patrol the air for 60-90 minutes at a time." It appears a Raven …
Continue reading Raven and other drones you throw into the air
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN A photo of US forces during a drill on June 1 shows "U.S. Marine with Marine Rotational Force-Europe 20.2, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, launches a Wasp Unmanned Aircraft System into the air during UAS training in Setermoen, Norway, June 1, 2020. MRF-E conducts various exercises, including arctic cold-weather and mountain-warfare …
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN In 2018 in the hot Kuwaiti desert a US soldier launched a quadcopter. A photo of the incident notes that "CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – Staff Sgt. Warren Palmer, master trainer and senior intelligence advisor, Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 1st Security Forces Assistance Brigade launches a drone using Instant Eye technology, Mar. …
Continue reading Small tactical drones the US used in Middle East
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve published photos of Scan Eagles being used in Iraq. The caption notes "civilian contractors launch a Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle drone system at Al Asad, Iraq, Mar. 4, 2020. Scan Eagle provides capabilities ranging from intelligence and reconnaissance to surveillance flight capabilities." To …
Drone Wars: The book 