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

by T. Mark McCurley (Author), Kevin Maurer (Author)

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.

Author Biography

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.