Smart Weapons: Top Secret History of Remote Controlled Airborne Weapons

I fail to agree with any of Greg Goebel's comments (on-line reviewer) concerning content. As a practicing engineer I found this book incredibly interesting, stemming from an interest in remotely controlled aircraft from early childhood. In the light of very recent events off the coast of China (April 2001), this book if nothing else allows us to glimpse at what tools are currently being used in the world's trouble spots for airborne surveillance. The titling of this book is misleading, as most of the book is concerned with explaining where the technologies were derived from, rather than their usage as an offensive weapons platform. The extensive web links in the appendix are also very useful for further reading.

This book will fascinate anyone interested in military policy. The authors trace the history of un-manned military flight, and do so in plain English. Did you know that drones were used to gather intelligence and select bomb sites in Vietnam? In Beirut? Do you want to see plans for future drones? The book is particularly interesting in view of the recent incident involving our manned spy-plane that was forced to land in China. This book makes you wonder why we spend money and risk lives with manned flights when un-manned can do the job.