On September 11th, everything changed. James Roche, then secretary of the Air Force, cut all remaining bureaucratic tape and armed General Atomic’s MQ-1 Predator. Over the next two decades and combat in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and the Horn of Africa, the US would fight for the hearts and minds of foreign publics with an increasingly prolific arsenal of remotely piloted armed aircraft providing persistent and pervasive intelligence over insurgents and terrorists across the world. The Air Force, the service of pilots, led the adoption of these systems. But while this was a golden age for unmanned platforms like the Predators, Reapers, or space-based satellites, other unmanned systems stagnated: strategic missiles atrophied, tactical missile inventories dwindled, and anti-ship and anti-submarine munitions were de-prioritized.
ABOUT THE PODCAST
The Hand Behind Unmanned is a limited series podcast about the people who design, direct, and deploy America’s arsenal of unmanned weapons. The limited series podcast tells stories about their beliefs, identities, and the ways in which human ideas about warfare created and continue to shape today’s drone revolution. It is a history of US investment in mines, torpedoes, missiles, satellites, bombs, and drones from the point of view of the generals, admirals, career bureaucrats, academicians, politicians, and entrepreneurs that guided, dictated, and sometimes manipulated technology to create autonomous systems.
You can also pick up a copy of the book “The Hand Behind Unmanned: Origins of the US Autonomous Military Arsenal” by Jacquelyn Schneider and Julia Macdonald. Available now: https://www.hoover.org/research/hand-behind-unmanned-origins-us-autonomous-military-arsenal?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=thbu_description
__________
The opinions expressed on this channel are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2025 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
🔔 Subscribe for more discussions: @HooverInstitution
👍 Like and share this video!
🌐 Follow us on social media:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HooverInstStanford
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hoover-institution-at-stanford-university
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hooverinstitution
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hooverinstitution
• X: https://www.twitter.com/HooverInst
