These daunting images show a U-2 spy plane landing at RAF Fairford. The distinctive United States Air Force aircraft, nicknamed Dragon Lady, touched down at the Gloucestershire air base after completing an unknown mission.
The U-2 provides high-altitude, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance, day or night, in “direct support of U.S. and allied forces.” According to the U.S. Air Force, the aircraft “delivers critical imagery and signals intelligence to decision makers throughout all phases of conflict, including peacetime indications and warnings, low-intensity conflict, and large-scale hostilities.”
Despite its capabilities, it is unconfirmed whether Monday’s flight was a spying mission as the absence of a ‘bump’ above the cockpit suggested some sensors were not fitted. A chase car can be seen, as the pilot is relying on landing on the single wheel, so the chase car, with another U2 pilot inside, will call out the height to go before landing on runway.
Routinely flown at altitudes over 70,000 feet, the U-2 pilot must wear a full pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts. According to the U.S. Air Force the U-2 has the “widely accepted title as the most difficult aircraft in the world to fly."
There has been renewed interest in military flights by the USAF and the RAF since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Most of the flights are pre-planned and not directly linked to the conflict.
The U2 history:
Built in complete secrecy by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, the original U-2A first flew in August 1955, the USAF says. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided the president and other U.S. decision makers with key intelligence on Soviet military capability.
In October 1962, the U-2 photographed the buildup of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, touching off the Cuban Missile Crisis. In more recent times, the U-2 has provided intelligence during operations in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
When requested, the U-2 also provides peacetime reconnaissance in support of disaster relief from floods, earthquakes, and forest fires as well as search and rescue operations.
U-2s are home based at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, California, but are rotated to operational detachments worldwide. U-2 pilots are trained at Beale using five two-seat aircraft designated as TU-2S before deploying for operational missions.
Primary function : high-altitude reconnaissance
Contractor : Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Thrust : 17,000 pounds
Wingspan : 105 feet (32 meters)
Length : 63 feet (19.2 meters)
Height : 16 feet (4.8 meters)
Weight : 16,000 pounds
Fuel capacity : 2,950 gallons
Payload : 5,000 pounds
Speed : 410 mph
Range: more than 7,000 miles (6,090 nautical miles)
Ceiling : above 70,000 feet (21,212+ meters)
Crew : one (two in trainer models)
Unit cost : classified
Initial operating capability : 1956
Inventory : active force, 33 (5 two-seat trainers and two ER-2s operated by NASA); Reserve, 0; ANG, 0
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