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Hunter Killer

Inside America's Unmanned Air War

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Hunter Killer

By: T. Mark Mccurley, Kevin Maurer
Narrated by: Holter Graham
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About this listen

 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. Air Forces Armed Forces Military Special & Elite Forces Weapons & Warfare War Middle East US Air Force Aviation Technology

Critic Reviews

Praise for Hunter Killer

“A veteran’s gritty, engrossing account of America’s RPA service in today’s far-flung conflicts.”-Library Journal (starred review)


“An Air Force veteran tells an exciting tale of tracking terrorist leaders by remote piloted aircraft, the future of military aviation… An illuminating tale of a pilot on the cutting edge.” –Kirkus
All stars
Most relevant
this guy in my opinion spends too much time worrying about the enemy. Their last moments on the planet and whether or not we should or should not be in iraq or Afghanistan or whatever. quite honestly I really don't think that this is a good book just because of that. he mourns the death of a man who facilitated the death of American troops. he goes on and on about his conscious and how tough it was to see him die in high-def. but he doesn't pick up an M4, doesn't take RPG fire he doesn't see his buddies shredded by AK-47 or ied. he's not in the field as somebody else's body parts are blown all over him or has to clean himself off from somebody else's blood or vomit. he's in the Cozy air-conditioned room and goes home at night and yet he talks about the trauma of War. he has no idea the trauma of War stick to the story of the predator and leave your crying for the enemy for enemy sympathizers.

Tears for the enemy

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This account of the early days of the remotely controlled aircraft programs in Afghanistan and Iraq contains just enough technical and historical information to keep you listening, but is severely hampered by the overly dramatic narration of what can honestly be compared to operating an electric sowing machine in an air-conditioned office. Another negative is the authors' relentless 21st century chest beating (you know, we heroically killed all the Taliban then I went home to cry to my girlfriend about it) and shamelessly inserting himself in every major incident, however how tangentible his involvement is. In summary, some interesting details if you can put up with the dramatics.

21st century chest beating.

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