Predator Drone | In The Pilot’s Seat | 4

American Innovations

Wondery

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

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2021

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Predator drone made a dramatic transformation from unarmed reconnaissance vehicle to lethal weapon in 2001, just after 9/11. On this episode, Steven talks to retired Air Force officer and pilot Scott Swanson, who was part of the team tasked with using the Predator to hunt down Osama Bin Laden and other terrorist leaders in Afghanistan.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to American Innovations,
0:03.6	Add Free on Amazon Music, download the app today.
0:07.4	Join Wondery Plus an Apple Podcast or the Wondery app
0:11.0	to listen to American Innovations early and add free.
0:14.4	Wondery Up!
0:21.4	From Wondery, I'm Stephen Johnson,
0:24.0	and this is American Innovations.
0:47.0	In our latest series, we traced the evolution of the Predator Drone.
0:51.0	From its early days as an unmanned reconnaissance vehicle
0:54.0	to its pivotal role in the war against Al Qaeda
0:57.0	and its current use by the US military in hot zones around the world.
1:02.0	It's a fascinating story, and our guest today was right at the center of it.
1:07.0	Today I'm talking with Retired Air Force Officer and Pilot Scott Swanson,
1:12.0	who was part of the team tasked with using the Predator Drone
1:15.0	to hunt down Osama bin Laden,
1:17.0	another terrorist leaders in Afghanistan.
1:20.0	Shortly after 9-11, when the Predator was armed with Hellfire missiles,
1:25.0	Swanson became the first pilot to use an unmanned aerial vehicle
1:29.0	to kill an enemy combatant.
1:31.0	Today, he's the Director of Operations for Tech Warrior Enterprise,
1:35.0	a nonprofit program designed to help small businesses develop technology for the Air Force.
1:41.0	Scott Swanson, thank you so much for joining us on American Innovations.
	...

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