Eye in the Sky

Colonel Katherine Powell learns that an undercover British/Kenyan agent has been murdered by Al-Shabaab. From Northwood Headquarters, she takes command of a mission to capture three of the ten highest-level Al-Shabaab leaders meeting in a safe house in Nairobi. The operation is set up as a multinational effort, coordinated via video and data links.

Powell leads a multinational team tasked with the capture, while a USAF MQ-9 Reaper provides aerial surveillance. The drone is controlled from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, and live feeds connect to ground teams around the world. Facial recognition and intelligence data are routed through facilities including the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific at Pearl Harbor.

Undercover Kenyan agents use short-range ornithopter and insectothopter cameras to relay ground intelligence to the operation. The team tracks three high-level targets as they are believed to be within a Nairobi safe house. Ground support and local informants help guide the capture plan.

In London, a COBRA meeting debates whether the mission should be a capture or a kill. The chain of command seeks to minimize collateral damage and move decisions up to the Foreign Secretary and beyond. No definitive authorization is granted during this session.

Powell's intelligence indicates the three high-level targets are arming two suicide bombers for an attack. The plan shifts from capture to kill as the threat becomes imminent. She seeks permission and begins preparing a precision strike.

Alia, who lives next door, becomes central to the risk assessment as she travels near the target building. The team weighs the potential civilian casualties against the need to stop the attack. There is growing pressure to delay the strike to avoid harming her.

Farah tries to purchase all of Alia's bread so she will leave her usual spot, but his cover is blown when he pays. He is forced to flee rather than complete his mission. The attempt highlights the human complexities in a rapid-decision scenario.

Powell orders the risk-assessment officer to find parameters that will yield a lower civilian casualty figure. He recalculates the strike point, providing a 45–65% range but reports only the lower figure to satisfy the pressure for a quick decision. The chain of command moves toward authorization.

With authorization granted, Watts fires the first Hellfire missile, destroying the target building and injuring Alia. One conspirator survives the strike, prompting the decision to execute a second missile.

Seconds after the first strike, a second missile hits the site as Alia’s parents reach her. They rush her to a hospital, but she is pronounced dead.

In the London situation room, the under-secretary berates Benson for killing from the safety of his chair. Benson counters that he has been on the ground in the aftermath of five suicide bombings and argues the necessity of the action.

The exchange underscores the moral and political complexities of drone warfare, leaving the audience with the stark reminder of the human cost. Benson's earlier line about the cost of war lingers as the narrative closes.