The Warhead: The Quest to Build the Perfect Weapon in the Age of Modern Warfare

Journalist Stern (The Mercenary) uncovers the captivating history of the first “smart” bomb and its impacts on both human lives and the evolution of technology. The Paveway self-steering missile originated in the quagmire of the Vietnam War, when the Air Force needed a precision weapon to destroy a key bridge known as the Dragon’s Jaw. Weldon Word, an engineer with Texas Instruments, was tasked by the Department of Defense to find a solution. The result was a long-range missile that used TI’s new semiconductor chips to navigate after being dropped. Stern tracks the Paveway from Vietnam to its subsequent deployments, often with upgraded capabilities, in hot zones around the world. Along the way he spotlights fighter pilots using the new tech; peace activists protesting against the bomb’s deployment; CIA analysts wrapping their heads around the unlimited potential of a weapon that, ostensibly, removed people from the war-fighting equation; and innocent civilians on the ground who suffered the collateral damage. Stern also tracks how each new iteration of the Paveway contributed to a military technological revolution that eventually led to the easy accessibility and ubiquitousness of tech like personal computers and GPS systems. Combining cinematic storytelling with urgent reflections on the moral implications of targeted killing at the press of a button, this is an enthralling and nuanced chronicle of modern warfare. (Jan.)