Obviously all those aviation engineers knew plenty about RC aircraft for a long time, but they weren’t making good drones yet because there were a variety of challenges which had to be overcome and integrated successfully into one platform. Low power-to-weight ratios (and some stealth) with carbon fiber, energy-efficient long-range telecommunications, accurate geo-positioning (IIRC this came later), integrated optics (with its own comms), and a much more robust automatic stability system. It’s easy from the perspective of 2024 to lose sight of how hard that might have been to achieve in a small package and at self-justifying prices over 40 years ago.

Karem, despite his reputation for brilliance, was too prickly and outspoken to be an effective advocate for his drone. Leading Systems, the company which made Amber, promptly went out of business.

That might have been the end of the story. The company’s assets were bought up by General Atomics, an outfit originally set up to harness nuclear power but now diversifying into other technologies.