Episode

How the CIA Launched the Predator Program with Alec Bierbauer

Podcast: Intel at the Edge
Published: Jan 28, 2026
Duration seconds: 2698
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Summary

In this episode of Intel at the Edge, host Chip Usher sits down with retired CIA officer Alec Bierbauer, a core founder of the team that launched the agency’s revolutionary Predator drone program. Bierbauer recounts the high-stakes history of the hunt for Osama bin Laden before 9/11, revealing how a small team bypassed traditional bureaucracy to put "U.S. eyes on target" in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. The conversation explores the technical and ethical evolution of unmanned systems, from the groundbreaking "Man in White" video captured at Turnak Farm to the rapid weaponization of the platform with Hellfire missiles.