By Aaron Spray
The U-2 spy plane has had a long career, although it appears to be finally approaching the end of it.
Summary
- The U-2 spy plane, developed by Lockheed in secrecy, remains in service and is the only high-altitude manned ISR platform.
- The U-2 has proved its versatility, used for various missions beyond spying, and can operate where other aircraft can't.
- The Air Force is planning to retire the U-2 fleet in FY 2026, ending a 70-year legacy of service.
Lockheed's U-2 spy plane was one of the most iconic aircraft of the Cold War and played a prominent role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Today, it is one of the oldest aircraft still in US Air Force service, having first flown in 1955 and entered service in 1956. It was designed to be hard to detect and to be a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. U-2s remain in service and are now the Air Force's only manned high-altitude ISR platform.
The Air Force's 70-year-old versatile spy plane
The U-2 spy plane was developed in covert conditions by Lockheed Martin's secretive "Skunk Works" in Burbank, California. It was designed with sailplane-like wings optimized for the thin atmosphere above 55,000 feet (later over 70,000 feet). They first entered service in 1956 and the last was delivered in 1989.
Photo: United States Air Force
"The U-2S Dragon Lady is an agile and reliable high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft that flies 24/7/365 to ensure global security with unparalleled performance." - Lockheed Martin
U-2s have been used for more than just spying on the communists. They have been used for mapping studies, atmospheric sampling, and even collecting crop and land management photographic data for the Department of Energy. U-2s have been used to enable communication between different generation fighter jets.
U-2 spy plane specifications | |
|---|---|
Wingspan: | 105 feet |
Length: | 63 feet |
Max takeoff weight: | 40,000 lbs |
Payload: | 5,000 lbs |
Speed: | 410 mph |
Range: | over 7,000 miles |
Service ceiling: | over 70,000 feet |
Satellites and drones had been planned to replace the U-2, but the U-2 persisted in being able to fly missions in an environment no other aircraft is able to operate. The U-2 can also be used as a platform to test sixth-gen platforms.
“We’re using U-2 in unique and innovative ways and as a surrogate platform, decreasing risk for our fifth-gen fighters, all we’re doing is decreasing risk and increasing the technical mature for stuff we’ll use on the F-35, F-22." Col. William Collins - senior materiel leader for ISR (reported by Air and Space Forces Magazine)
Photo: United States Air Force
According to Lockheed Martin, the U-2 has proven flexible as a platform to demonstrate new capabilities faster and more cost-effectively for a Joint All-Domain Operations vision. Its unique and modular design enables it to demonstrate and prove new technologies in weeks, not years. Lockheed Martin states it has "demonstrated open architecture and superior size, weight, power, and cooling (SWAP-C) capacity."
In 2023, the Air Force's U-2 was one of the assets used to collect intelligence on the intruding Chinese 'spy balloon' as it floated across Canada and the US before an F-22 Raptor popped it (the only enemy air-to-air kill for the world's most advanced air superiority jet).
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The two U-2s shot down
The U-2 Dragon Lady entered service in 1956 and remained secret until May 1, 1960, when the Soviets shot one down as it flew a spying reconnaissance flight over Soviet territory (it was civilian piloted).
It was a U-2 (piloted by Maj. Richard S. Hersey) that first discovered the Soviet missile sites in Cuba on October 14, 1962. Eight days later, a U-2 spy plane was shot down during the Cuban Missile Crisis by a surface-to-air missile. Things could have escalated dramatically when that U-2 was shot down over Cuba, but cooler heads prevailed.
Photo: United States Air Force
U-2 key dates | |
|---|---|
First flown: | 1955 |
Initial operating capability: | 1956 |
Soviet shoot-down: | 1960 |
Cuban shoot-down: | 1962 |
Last production: | 1989 |
Planned retirement: | 2026 (Air Force) |
The wreckage of these aircraft is now on display in museums in those countries. The Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing also displays the wreckage of a U-2C (56-6691) shot down over China in 1965. According to CNN, five U-2s were shot down over China. However, at the time, all U-2s were the responsibility of the CIA, and the agency never officially explained what they were doing over China. They were also piloted by Taiwanese pilots and claimed to be involved in a weather research initiative.
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End of the road
All things (seemingly apart from the B-52 Stratofortresses) come to an end. In August 2023, the Air and Space Forces Magazine reported that the Air Force is finally planning to retire its U-2 Dragon Lady fleet in fiscal year 2026. The Air Force budget request for 2025 did not include any U-2 divestments.
Photo: viper-zero | Shutterstock
"Expectations are for protective NDAA language to be waived during FY 2023 allowing the USAF to move forward with U-2 divestment in FY 2026." - Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Estimates
U-2 spy plane today | |
|---|---|
Status: | In service |
Planned retirement: | FY 2026 |
Inventory: | 33 (5 two-seat trainers and two ER-2s operated by NASA) |
Currently operators: | US Air Force, NASA |
If the Air Force retires them in fiscal year 2026, they will have been flying for 70 years (although the aircraft still flying today were built in the 1980s). The U-2s in service are now, on average, around 40 years old, and the Air Force is now facing diminishing manufacturing sources for key parts.
Photo: NASA
NASA operates two variants of the U-2 (called ER-2 or Earth Resources 2) for scientific missions. It is unclear when these will retire and if they will outlive their Air Force counterparts.
