The MQ-1 Predator is a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) used for forward observation and reconnaissance as well as targeted attacks with its two Hellfire missiles. Frequently referred to as a drone or even a robot in the press, the insectlike craft is sometimes spoken of as though it were an autonomous machine, coldly killing according to its programming. In reality, the RPA has a crew like any other aircraft—except for the fact that the crew is not on board, but safely on the ground
The MQ-1 Predator is a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) used for forward observation and reconnaissance as well as targeted attacks with its two Hellfire missiles. Frequently referred to as a drone or even a robot in the press, the insectlike craft is sometimes spoken of as though it were an autonomous machine, coldly killing according to its programming. In reality, the RPA has a crew like any other aircraft—except for the fact that the crew is not on board, but safely on the ground and sometimes half a world away from the missions they’re flying.Predator is Lt. Col. Matt J. Martin's first-person account of fighting the Global War on Terror over Iraq and Afghanistan from the controls of an RPA. From his training in Nevada to being stationed in Iraq—where his base came under attack even if he was "safe" on the ground during Predator missions—Martin provides personal insights into a program that until recently was largely classified secret.There are exciting stories of chasing and attacking armed insurgents in Baghdad and the desert countryside as well as heart-wrenching accounts of the inevitable collateral damage of urban warfare. Ironically, due to monitors fed by the Predator's targeting camera, even if stationed far away from the action, these crews witness the effects of their attacks far more closely than traditional bomber crews physically present above their targets. Regardless of where the reader stands on the war, the myth of the Predator as a cold killing machine is put to rest through the struggles of the people serving in these remote-controlled battles against insurgents and terrorists.
^ Predator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan: A Pilot's Story ISBN 9780760338964 (revised Mar 2026)
^Predator: The Remote-control Air War Over Iraq And Afghanistan: A Pilot's StoryIndigo. ISBN 9780760338964 (revised Dec 2022)
^Matt J. MartinPredator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan: A Pilot's Story, Zenith Press. Amazon. ISBN 9780760338964 (revised Feb 2015)
Through the 1990s and 2000s, the world witnessed revolutions in warfare. In the 1990s, the United States Air Force introduced the world to Global Atomic's MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). Also in this war, what went unnoticed was the Air Force's revolution in fighting from a garrison installation. Strike pilots would leave their Italian homes well before sunrise, plan and execute strike missions in the Balkans, and then return home to their families. This new pattern broke the tradition of..
They should change the title of this book. "Predator" is a Patricia Cornwell novel and an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie (neither of which has *anything* to do with the other) and frankly a non-fiction book with the same title is just dumb. How are they going to market it, and get people to buy it? Perhaps a more descriptive title, like "The Predator's War?"Author Matt Martin is an Air Force officer who wanted to be a pilot, and was thwarted by circumstances. Instead, he contrived to get into the Predator prog..
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), have played an increasingly influential role in air warfare. Initially used only for photo recce, UAVs have evolved into armed sentinels, endlessly circling over battlefields until their pilots, usually located half a world away, unleash deadly Hellfire missiles, JDAMs or other munitions. Lieutenant Colonel Matt Martin, a UAV veteran, and Charles Sasser describe the THE REMOTE-CONTROL AIR WAR OVER IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN in this f..
