Richard Whittle
Author of Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution
Works by Richard Whittle
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Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- Richard Whittle, author of Predator: The Secret Origins of The Drone Revolution and The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey, is a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and 2013-14 Alfred V. Verville Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. A contributor to Air & Space Smithsonian, the web site Breaking Defense, and other publications, Whittle covered the Pentagon and other Washington beats for The Dallas Morning News for 22 years. Earlier in his career, he covered defense and foreign policy for Congressional Quarterly magazine and was an editor at National Public Radio. He has been an interview guest on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," C-SPAN, National Public Radio and a variety of other U.S. television and radio broadcasts. Fluent in German, Rick has also been an occasional guest commentator for German and Swiss public radio. Check out his commentaries on the Osprey and the drone revolution at www.breakingdefense.com
http://richardwhittle.net/
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Reviews
Whittle's exploration of drone technology goes back to the beginning--to a boy who was fascinated with model airplanes--and because he takes a story-teller's view to the whole of drone technology's history, this book is far more readable than one might expect. In fact, Whittle's step-by-step approach makes it a fairly fascinating journey, as he's careful to take time for exploring the characters of the people who played the greatest roles in developing the technology, and uncovering the show more steps that directed the timeline and the direction at each turning point. Covering more than three decades of genesis and development, the book moves quickly and carefully forward--and, truthfully, the power of this book comes partially forward because the power and the excitement of development and invention are transferred so artfully from the engineers and developers at the center of the book right on to the reader.
Readers should know that this truly is more of a history than anything. Although important questions of ethics and allowance are raised, and sometimes struggled with by the men and the women at the center of drone development, those questions aren't given center stage in Whittle's writing. They do, however, underlie much of the later portion of the book, and a thoughtful reader will find a lot to admire in the way that Whittle introduces them subtly while still focusing on development and history--probably with the realization that those questions are themselves large enough to fill a whole other work of nonfiction that is less focused on science and technology.
As someone who is, at best, skeptical of drones and what we've come to know as drone warfare, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book--but, at the same time, I wanted to be more informed. Now, although I'm still torn in terms of how we're using this technology, I'm both more informed and more appreciative, at least on some level, and I'm certainly glad to have stumbled across Whittle's work.
I'd certainly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the way science & technology develop, and in the way that that development both influences and is influenced by human factors. And, of course, anyone who feels somewhat under-informed about drone warfare and what these pieces of technology truly do will find this to be a useful exploration of the history and the technology--and a readable one, at that. show less
Readers should know that this truly is more of a history than anything. Although important questions of ethics and allowance are raised, and sometimes struggled with by the men and the women at the center of drone development, those questions aren't given center stage in Whittle's writing. They do, however, underlie much of the later portion of the book, and a thoughtful reader will find a lot to admire in the way that Whittle introduces them subtly while still focusing on development and history--probably with the realization that those questions are themselves large enough to fill a whole other work of nonfiction that is less focused on science and technology.
As someone who is, at best, skeptical of drones and what we've come to know as drone warfare, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book--but, at the same time, I wanted to be more informed. Now, although I'm still torn in terms of how we're using this technology, I'm both more informed and more appreciative, at least on some level, and I'm certainly glad to have stumbled across Whittle's work.
I'd certainly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the way science & technology develop, and in the way that that development both influences and is influenced by human factors. And, of course, anyone who feels somewhat under-informed about drone warfare and what these pieces of technology truly do will find this to be a useful exploration of the history and the technology--and a readable one, at that. show less
This is really excellant journalism, as the author examines how Bell Helicopter became infected with tilt-rotor fever, transmitted the disease to Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, and thus set off a sorry tale of a lousy partnership with Boeing, dubious funding maneuvers that kept the program on life support but not healthy, and a slap-dash sprint to get the Osprey ready for service issue that would lead to calamity; a real text-book example of how not to manage a cutting-edge technology show more project.
Was it worth it? Whittle seems cautiously positive but makes no definitive statement on the matter, as even if the Osprey now represents a real capability it came at a high price, and Whittle does work very hard at trying to do justice to all the parties involved. In retrospect it might have been wise for the Marine Corps to have ordered conventional helicopters under the Reagan Administration and then take the time to produce a mature tilt-rotor prototype.
While not Whittle's mission, this work suggests that there's a systematic study waiting to be written about the failures of procuring new weapons systems for the U.S. military in the 1980s, as so many programs then initiated (Comanche attack chopper, A-12 attack bomber, Paladin self-propelled gun, Virginia class nuclear submarine, SDI, etc.) now appear to be half-baked failures. Even allowing for the Cold War enthusiasm for "Blue Sky" efforts to leap a generation in terms of capability and steal a march on the Soviets, incrementalism might have been the smarter strategy. Certainly the Bell-Boeing misadventures with the use of composite materials in the Osprey (a major thread of Whittle's story) makes one give a sigh of relief that the A-12 Avenger was cancelled.
As for my rating, the only reason I don't give this work the full five stars is that the story of the Osprey isn't over yet. show less
Was it worth it? Whittle seems cautiously positive but makes no definitive statement on the matter, as even if the Osprey now represents a real capability it came at a high price, and Whittle does work very hard at trying to do justice to all the parties involved. In retrospect it might have been wise for the Marine Corps to have ordered conventional helicopters under the Reagan Administration and then take the time to produce a mature tilt-rotor prototype.
While not Whittle's mission, this work suggests that there's a systematic study waiting to be written about the failures of procuring new weapons systems for the U.S. military in the 1980s, as so many programs then initiated (Comanche attack chopper, A-12 attack bomber, Paladin self-propelled gun, Virginia class nuclear submarine, SDI, etc.) now appear to be half-baked failures. Even allowing for the Cold War enthusiasm for "Blue Sky" efforts to leap a generation in terms of capability and steal a march on the Soviets, incrementalism might have been the smarter strategy. Certainly the Bell-Boeing misadventures with the use of composite materials in the Osprey (a major thread of Whittle's story) makes one give a sigh of relief that the A-12 Avenger was cancelled.
As for my rating, the only reason I don't give this work the full five stars is that the story of the Osprey isn't over yet. show less
Journalist Richard Whittle has been covering defense issues for a very long time and had already written one book about the program development of the notorious V-22 Osprey aircraft. Whittle has now turned his attention to the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or “drone,” as the media usually describes such unmanned aircraft. It’s a fascinating story: what began as little more than a fragile remote-controlled aircraft designed for surveillance has become a robust combat system show more that can be used for surveillance or attack around the globe. The Predator first saw major field testing in the 1990s in Bosnia but really came into its own with the introduction of both unarmed surveillance and armed versions in Afghanistan following September 11.
Whittle’s prose is extremely lucid. He has to juggle a large cast of characters from the 1980s in Israel through the early twenty-first century, along with a laundry list of Pentagon programs, offices, and technologies. With a lesser author, this could have been a dry, institutional history that gets bogged down in its own details; not so with Whittle.
Whittle has woven his narrative from a host of published sources as well as extensive interviews with many of the participants in the Predator’s development and operation. While most of Whittle’s sources (and they are legion) have gone on record, I am curious about the identity of a key figure, whom Whittle calls “Werner,” who is presented as being at the right place and right time on several occasions with just the right idea when it came to pushing Predator development forward. I’m always a bit skeptical of unnamed sources, especially when they seem this pivotal, and I would hate to think that Whittle has become captured by one of his sources the way that, say, Bob Woodward tends to be in his accounts of recent history. It’s a small quibble, but I’d love to see Werner’s identity revealed so his version of events may be cross-checked in a second edition. I also appreciated that Whittle took Tommy Franks to task when it came to Franks’ role in the first uses of the armed Predator in Afghanistan in fall 2001 and spring 2002. I was not impressed with Franks’ autobiography AMERICAN SOLDIER for a variety of reasons, and Whittle does a good job of pointing out the inconsistencies in Franks’ account that simply don’t square with what we know of those events from multiple other credible accounts as well as Franks’ (perhaps unsurprising) self-promotion.
Whittle is a gifted writer able to present technical developments and inside-the-Pentagon political maneuverings in a very engaging way – that takes talent. I very much look forward to reading more from Whittle, as he’s clearly very knowledgeable about contemporary military aviation issues and more than capable of presenting his research in a thorough but engaging manner. Those interested in the “drone revolution” and how the United States reached a point where pilots operating from the safety of U.S. bases in North America or elsewhere around the world conduct real-time surveillance and attacks thousands of miles away will find this an especially useful account. This really is a revolutionary new military capability that we should all gain a better understanding of. Highly recommended for those looking for a detailed look of the research, development, and acquisition process of the Predator UAV. It’s also a good first look at the initial uses of the Predator’s armed variant in Afghanistan, though this discussion is really only begun in the last chapter; I’d love to see this material expanded into a second volume on UAV operations from 2001 to the present.
Addendum (November 19, 2014): Whittle has donated 15 documents related to the history of the Predator program to the George Washington University's National Security Archive. They are available electronically: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB484/
Review copyright © 2014 J. Andrew Byers show less
Whittle’s prose is extremely lucid. He has to juggle a large cast of characters from the 1980s in Israel through the early twenty-first century, along with a laundry list of Pentagon programs, offices, and technologies. With a lesser author, this could have been a dry, institutional history that gets bogged down in its own details; not so with Whittle.
Whittle has woven his narrative from a host of published sources as well as extensive interviews with many of the participants in the Predator’s development and operation. While most of Whittle’s sources (and they are legion) have gone on record, I am curious about the identity of a key figure, whom Whittle calls “Werner,” who is presented as being at the right place and right time on several occasions with just the right idea when it came to pushing Predator development forward. I’m always a bit skeptical of unnamed sources, especially when they seem this pivotal, and I would hate to think that Whittle has become captured by one of his sources the way that, say, Bob Woodward tends to be in his accounts of recent history. It’s a small quibble, but I’d love to see Werner’s identity revealed so his version of events may be cross-checked in a second edition. I also appreciated that Whittle took Tommy Franks to task when it came to Franks’ role in the first uses of the armed Predator in Afghanistan in fall 2001 and spring 2002. I was not impressed with Franks’ autobiography AMERICAN SOLDIER for a variety of reasons, and Whittle does a good job of pointing out the inconsistencies in Franks’ account that simply don’t square with what we know of those events from multiple other credible accounts as well as Franks’ (perhaps unsurprising) self-promotion.
Whittle is a gifted writer able to present technical developments and inside-the-Pentagon political maneuverings in a very engaging way – that takes talent. I very much look forward to reading more from Whittle, as he’s clearly very knowledgeable about contemporary military aviation issues and more than capable of presenting his research in a thorough but engaging manner. Those interested in the “drone revolution” and how the United States reached a point where pilots operating from the safety of U.S. bases in North America or elsewhere around the world conduct real-time surveillance and attacks thousands of miles away will find this an especially useful account. This really is a revolutionary new military capability that we should all gain a better understanding of. Highly recommended for those looking for a detailed look of the research, development, and acquisition process of the Predator UAV. It’s also a good first look at the initial uses of the Predator’s armed variant in Afghanistan, though this discussion is really only begun in the last chapter; I’d love to see this material expanded into a second volume on UAV operations from 2001 to the present.
Addendum (November 19, 2014): Whittle has donated 15 documents related to the history of the Predator program to the George Washington University's National Security Archive. They are available electronically: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB484/
Review copyright © 2014 J. Andrew Byers show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution by Richard Whittle is a very well-written and engaging history of the Predator UAV program. Whittle does a great job of conveying the initial reluctance that the armed forces had towards UAVs, and then the great urgency to get them into the field after 9/11. Some very talented people worked on this program and overcame some difficult technical challenges in creating a working UAV system. I highly recommend this book for anyone curious show more about UAVs, how they operate, and how they came to be such an integral part of the U.S. Air Force. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.You May Also Like
Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Members
- 204
- Popularity
- #108,206
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 18
- ISBNs
- 10
