Drone Strike! Book Review
By Davd L. Veres
| Date of Review | February 2017 | Title | Drone Strike! |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Bill Yenne | Publisher | Specialty Press |
| Published | 2017 | ISBN | 978-1580072380 |
| Format | 192 pages, hardbound | MSRP (USD) | $39.95 |
Review
They tackle today's "'dull, dirty and dangerous'" missions.
They're drones – also called UAVs and UCAVs. And they've profoundly and irreversibly changed the calculus of modern air combat.
Now they're the subject of Drone Strike! – a cool, colorful compendium from Specially Press.
Author Bill Yenne skillfully surveys the manifold issues associated with Remotely Piloted Aircraft in 21st Century warfare: developmental, technical, political, organizational, operational and more.
Contents span 192 intensely informative pages across 18 lavishly illustrated chapters:
- In the Home of Persistent Situational Awareness
- Evolving Systems Technology
- Communications as the Keystone of UAV Operation
- Data Transmission and the Kill Chain
- Except on a Cloudy Overcast Day
- A Limited War Against a Worldwide Caliphate
- Sons of UCAV and Other American Drones
- The United States and International Collaborative Programs
- Inside the European Collaborative Programs
- European Non-Collaborative Programs
- Unmanned Aerial Combat, the Middle East Standoff
- Unmanned Aerial Combat, the South Asia Standoff
- National Programs
- Unmanned Aerial Combat Technology in China
- The Beast of Kandahar, Mystery and Pedigree
- The X-47B, the Tip of the Unmanned Spear
- The Travails and Tribulations of UCLASS
- The Future of Unmanned Aerial Combat
Dozens of stunning color photos – most from official government and corporate sources – season the study. And extended captions augment all.
I especially enjoyed Yenne's summaries of collaborative programs and international drone systems. They confirm that worldwide use of unmanned combat aircraft will continue – and expand.
An appendix on "Specifications for Selected Unmanned Aerial Vehicles", another summarizing "American Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" and an index conclude contents.
Nitpicks?
This book really needs an acronym glossary. Annotations would be nice, too. Is it really spelled "beyond-line-of-site"? And when will publishers muster the spine purge the word "militants" from talk of terrorism?
Recommended!
My sincere thanks to Specialty Press for this review sample!