KNPR interview with "drone pilot"

Link to mp3 audio
Link to text associate with interview

“After a day of being there and doing that and being intense to the nth degree -- life and death ... then you go home and it’s ‘honey, your truck leaked oil on the driveway,’” says retired drone pilot Lt. Colonel Bruce Black. “To come down off that level of concern to something -- I know that it’s important, but it just didn’t rise to that level, and it was difficult at times.”

Not exactly an earth shattering interview. I suggest reading Matt Martin's book "Predator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan: A Pilot's Story".

Incidentally, Creech lost another drone on the 11/14. The USAF isn't saying much, like what exactly crashed. I suggest someone start a new thread when they actually release some details since the title of this thread will not be exactly on topic. But here is a link to what the press has been circulating thus far.
Creech drone crash 11/14/2013
Basically a rewrite of some USAF release.

gariac
Incidentally, Creech lost another drone on the 11/14. The USAF isn't saying much, like what exactly crashed. I suggest someone start a new thread when they actually release some details since the title of this thread will not be exactly on topic. But here is a link to what the press has been circulating thus far.
Creech drone crash 11/14/2013
Basically a rewrite of some USAF release.

I'm hearing it's another Reaper. Second one this week, so they're kinda looking into them a little to see if it's a systemic issue, or just flukes.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Is this the other one you referring to?:

defensetech.org...

reply to post by Sammamishman


Yeah, they found the debris in the lake, and said it just plunged into the water with no warning.

This is the official release from Creech. I assume it will be updated Monday and I or someone else can start a fresh thread.
Creech crash

Getting back to the KNPR audio, I think I may have glossed over it a bit. That it, there is nothing really new in it if you have kept up with drones. Probably the most interesting bit in the audio is the question on the collateral damage report which the DoD says is exaggerated. Predator and Reapers leave the base with two different warheads on the Hellfire. That is the Hellfire is a class of missile, not a particular missile. The weapons operator picks the right amount of firepower for the job. Remember precision bombing is everything these days. That means on target and with the right amount of kinetics. The pilot being interviewed mentioned the crater on the ground where the woman was picking crops. The Hellfire isn't cheap, so to be a worthy target, you better have a weapon on you. I seriously doubt they would waste a Hellfire on some woman picking crops, and she probably did stumble upon an IED.

What the pilot didn't mention is "double tap", though he hinted at it. Double tap is where you tap the first target, do the BDA (battle damage assesment) report, then wait for for the rescuers, then target them if appropriate. The problem is these targets are signature strikes, as opposed to being on the POTUS kill list. A signature stike means you are in the right place and look like you are up to no good. Of course that telephoto lens might look like a RPG. To make it to the POTUS kill list, you have a name and some history. Apparently US citizenship isn't a hindrance. Age matters in that you need to be a MAM (military age male), which includes teenagers.

Not mentioned in the KNPR report is the problem of the time lag between firing the missile and having it hit the target. This is 30 to 45 seconds. In an urban environment, it is quite possible for someone to wander into the target area after the missile has been launched.

So the truth about collateral damage is probably somewhere in the middle. I'm not a fan of the signature strike, since there are plenty of documented killings of people whose only crime was having a nicer ride than your average desert dweller. [A nice car is part of the signature.] The POTUS kill list, well, it has it's good points, but there is no shortage of yahoos that want to be number 3 in these terrorist networks. Supposedly the number of Saudis that want to do jihad have dwindled since they do have other opportunities. [Take your hand out job and STFU.] But there is no shortage of replacement terrorists who basically have nothing better to do.