Predator Drone | From Albatross to Amber | 1

American Innovations

Wondery

Steven Johnson, History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids, Science

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2021

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What if you could design a spy plane that could be flown remotely and hover in the sky for hours, providing reconnaissance for troops on the ground? In the early 1980s, the visionary inventor Abe Karem begins building drones out of his L.A. garage. Soon, the Pentagon and the CIA take notice. Though he faces many challenges, Karem is on the forefront of a revolution that will change the face of modern aerial warfare.

Listen to new episodes 1 week early and ad free, and access exclusive seasons of American Innovations with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/innovations.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, Prime members, you can listen to American Innovations,
0:03.6	Add Free on Amazon Music, download the app today.
0:08.2	Join Wondery Plus to listen to American Innovations one week early
0:12.4	and add free in the Wondery app.
0:15.0	Download the Wondery app in your Apple or Google Play mobile app store today.
0:20.2	CIA Campus, Langley, Virginia, October 7, 2001.
0:34.9	Inside an unassuming, double-wide trailer, Air Force pilot Scott Swanson
0:40.1	stares intently at infrared images on a video screen as he manipulates a joystick controller.
0:46.8	He's remotely flying a high-tech, unmanned drone called a predator.
0:52.0	His mission commander, Mark Kudir, sits a few feet behind him,
0:56.0	issuing orders through his headset.
0:58.0	Maintain holder of the target.
0:59.7	Copy that.
1:01.0	The predator is some 7,000 miles away,
1:04.7	hovering three miles above the city of Kandahar in Afghanistan.
1:09.0	It's less than a month after the 9-11 terrorist attacks,
1:12.4	and this is the first night of operation enduring freedom.
1:16.6	The US military campaign against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
1:20.7	The predator is surveilling a some have been loved in second-in-command.
1:24.7	Taliban supreme commander, Mullah Omar.
1:28.3	Swanson and Kudir watch as a three-vehicle convoy pulls into a walled compound
1:33.3	of rectangular buildings. Omar is believed to be in one of those vehicles.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -1219 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.