Hostile Skies: A Technical and Behavioral Guide to Criminal and Extremist Drone Use

In an era where warfare, intelligence, and crime evolve faster than most institutions can understand, one investigator traces the hidden history behind the rise of modern conflict and the technologies shaping it.Drawing on decades of experience across public and private intelligence, technical surveillance countermeasures, electronic forensics, and human intelligence operations, Stephen John Komorek offers a rare inside look at how truth is uncovered in some of the most complex and opaque environments in the world. From early field lessons learned in the shadows of traditional tradecraft to the emergence of drone warfare and remote systems that are rewriting the rules of engagement, this book documents the transformation of conflict through a technical and historical lens.Grounded in thousands of real investigations across more than two dozen countries, Komorek examines how modern adversaries think, how they adapt, and how they exploit both technology and human behavior. Readers will travel from the quiet discipline of surveillance rooms to the shifting front lines of contemporary war zones, where drones, sensors, and digital footprints now shape missions as decisively as soldiers and diplomats.At its core, this book is a tribute to the investigators, analysts, engineers, intelligence officers, HUMINT collectors, and scholars whose work built the foundation of today’s craft. Inspired by the giants of military and strategic history such as Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Carl von Clausewitz, and B. H. Liddell Hart, Komorek continues the long tradition of documenting lessons for the next generation.Part field manual, part historical study, and part reflection on a lifetime spent pursuing truth, this book explores:• The evolution of warfare from classical battlefields to drone-driven conflicts• The intersection of human intelligence, private intelligence, and technological surveillance• The signals and patterns hidden inside modern investigations• How truth reveals itself through data, behavior, and history• Why deception and misdirection remain constant across centuries• How investigators adapt when adversaries change the rulesWritten with humility, candor, and a deep respect for those who trained him, Komorek offers a clear and unromantic view of the intelligence world. There are no shortcuts here. No theatrics. Only the patient discipline of learning, observing, verifying, and following evidence wherever it leads.For readers interested in intelligence, modern conflict, cyber investigations, drone warfare, surveillance, military history, or strategic studies, this book provides both a technical education and a historical map of the world we now live in. Read more