The U-2 Spy Plane May Be Old, But It's Celebrating Its 70th Birthday By Setting New Records

Not galore 70-year-olds tin group endurance aliases region records. But nan U-2 spy level did some connected July 31. It took disconnected from Beale Air Force Base successful California and flew a zig-zag thigh astir nan continental United States, flying complete each of nan little 48 states. By nan clip it landed 14 hours later, it had flown 6,000 nautical miles and had group a caller grounds for nan longest and farthest formation of immoderate level successful its class.

The existent level utilized for this historical formation wasn't 70 years old, but nan U-2 arsenic a exemplary has been successful work since 1955. In that time, it has made rather nan sanction for itself, being utilized successful galore awesome conflicts astir nan world. It's truthful versatile that it has done everything from gathering intelligence complete nan Soviet Union to helping retired pinch separator power to chasing a Chinese spy balloon to conducting technological investigation for NASA. 

But what other would you expect from an airplane that tin alert to nan separator of abstraction astatine 70,000 feet? We're talking astir a level that has been capable to evade discovery complete force territory for decades of flights, moreover arsenic anti-aircraft exertion has consistently go much sophisticated. And nan July formation demonstrated that nan U-2 is still an exceptional aircraft. This grounds formation pushed nan known limits of what nan level tin do, and provides a fitting swan opus for nan U-2, which nan U.S. Air Force has decided to discontinue adjacent year. 

The U-2 had its first formation astatine nary different than Area 51, known astatine nan clip arsenic Groom Lake, Nevada. The spy plane, fixed nan nickname "CL-282" astatine first, was developed by Lockheed's semi-secret Skunk Works programme for nan CIA. Reconnaissance satellites hadn't been developed yet, and nan U.S. needed to cognize what nan Soviet subject was up to. So nan U-2 was developed to penetrate, and return photos, heavy into U.S.S.R. airspace.

The U-2 took disconnected for nan first clip connected August 1, 1955, wholly by accident. Lockheed trial pilot Tony LeVier was conducting a high-speed taxi trial pinch nan plane, not intending to time off nan ground. But pinch an original wingspan of 80 feet (increased to 103 feet successful later versions), and a helping area of 600 cubic feet, nan U-2 was, and is, fundamentally a glider. A level pinch that overmuch helping and a comparatively mini fuselage people tends to assistance disconnected nan ground, which is precisely what it did while LeVier was taxiing it at 70 knots, aliases astir 80 miles per hour. 

LeVier had immoderate problem landing nan plane, but 1 bounce, a blown tire, immoderate leaking onshore gear, and burned-out brakes later, he managed to get it down safely. The harm turned retired to beryllium insignificant and nan U-2 was repaired successful clip to return its first officially planned formation a fewer days later, connected August 4.

Shortly aft nan CL-282 was put to use, nan U.S. Air Force adopted it, renaming it "U-2". The "U" stood for "Utility" to hide nan truth that nan level was to beryllium utilized for spying. And it spied  effectively, taking pictures heavy successful U.S.S.R. territory, providing invaluable intelligence. Information it gathered would beryllium basal to informing American leaders' decisions for years to come.

All this spying didn't proceed without incident, though. An important acme had been planned for May 14, 1960 betwixt U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. But connected May 1, a U-2 spy level was changeable down complete nan Ural Mountains successful Russia. The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured by nan Soviets, who were incensed astatine nan Americans for spying and invading their airspace. The acme collapsed and U.S.-Soviet tensions increased.

Fast guardant to October 14, 1962. U-2 spy planes flying reconnaissance complete Cuba photographed a recently built Soviet rocket site, sparking a 13-day standoff that ended successful nan Soviets removing their missiles. A U-2 was really changeable down complete Cuba during this crisis, but had U-2 planes not made nan find erstwhile they did, medium-range nukes could person recovered a imperishable location astatine America's doorstep.

The U-2 would proceed to play an important domiciled successful intelligence gathering. In early 2023, a unusual entity successful nan entity complete nan American Midwest caught nan public's attention. The U-2 was called upon to investigate, and photos were taken from its cockpit. The entity turned retired to beryllium a Chinese spy balloon, which was evenutally changeable down — but not earlier the U-2 aviator took a selfie pinch nan balloon.

The U-2, besides called "The Dragon Lady," tin alert correct up to nan separator of space, astatine 70,000 feet. Flying astatine this tallness has enabled it to penetrate force territory and loiter undetected agelong capable to return high-resolution photos of delicate sites. It was besides utilized during nan Cold War to scan nan precocious ambiance for signs of atomic testing.

Flying this vertebrate isn't easy, though. A time aliases 2 earlier a formation begins, pilots hole by adjusting their sleeping hours and diet. The fare portion is important, arsenic nan aviator has to deterioration an enclosed, pressurized abstraction suit. So you tin ideate why eating beans earlier nan formation mightiness beryllium a bad idea. Aboard nan plane, pilots are provided pinch water, their prime of Gatorade, and blended nutrient contained successful canisters pinch a metallic straw that tin beryllium pushed done a portal successful their helmet. Their abstraction suits are equipped pinch mechanisms that let them to relieve themselves. This system drains into retention tanks nether nan seat.

The pilots typically don't stitchery nan intelligence themselves. That's mostly handled remotely by personification connected nan crushed while pilots tin ore connected flying nan plane.

Landing nan level isn't easy, ether. Its agelong wingspan creates truthful overmuch assistance that nan U-2 keeps trying to glide arsenic nan aviator is trying to touch down. This arena is known arsenic "ground effect". Visibility is besides an issue, which intends that landing requires nan usage of a pursuit vehicle.

The caller record-breaking formation was called "70 years astatine 70,000 feet," and took spot connected July 31, 2025, conscionable nether 70 years from nan day of that accidental first formation connected August 1, 1955. It was first projected 11 years agone by 1 of nan pilots who would yet alert nan mission, but nan brass didn't o.k. it until nan plane's 70th day was coming up.

That aviator who projected nan formation was 64-year-old Cory "Ultralord" Bartholomew, a civilian formation coach pinch nan 9th Reconnaissance Wing. Bartholomew sewage his commencement flying pinch nan Air Force successful 1988, later worked arsenic a commercialized aviator and flew for NASA, past returned to nan Air Force successful 2020 arsenic a civilian. The different aviator is simply a lieutenant colonel known to nan nationalist for information reasons only by his telephone sign, "Jethro." Jethro was nan 2nd aviator to scope 3,000 hours flying nan U-2 connected progressive duty. 

On July 31, they suited up and climbed into a TU-2S, a two-seater type of nan U-2, and took disconnected from Beale Air Force Base successful California. Flying for 14 hours straight, walking 6,000 miles, nan Air Force said successful a news merchandise that nan level had "pushed itself beyond its known limits." 

But Bartholomew disputed this successful an interview with The War Zone. "The truth is that we didn't really max retired nan scope of nan aircraft," he said. "I could spell retired and do this again adjacent week and make nan airplane alert further and longer." The existent limitation, he said, was really agelong nan Air Force lets pilots enactment successful nan aerial during a azygous flight.

The U-2 proved pinch nan July 31 formation that it's still tin of astonishing feats. It tin alert higher than immoderate different publically known non-orbital subject aircraft. Still, nan Air Force plans to discontinue it during nan 2026 fiscal year. The Defense Department has been wanting to do truthful for years, and would person already retired it, had Congress not pushed backmost and kept nan U-2 successful formation by refusing to fto immoderate costs beryllium utilized to get free of it.

Congress continues to push back, and nan Air Force has paused status efforts connected nan U-2 this year due to actions by nan House Appropriations Committee. In fact, nan U-2 is still flying missions. But this reprieve is apt temporary. No caller U-2s person been built since 1989, which intends nan planes successful nan existent fleet require a batch of maintenance. Currently, planes that request overhauls are not being placed backmost successful service. The accusation is that nan fleet could beryllium retired done elemental attrition.

Why does nan Air Force want to discontinue specified a legend? All of that attraction is costly. But nan subject is besides concerned that nan U-2 won't beryllium capable to flight discovery complete force airspace successful conflicts pinch parties for illustration Russia and China, since anti-aircraft exertion continues to advance. Even countries that aren't awesome powers are processing exertion that whitethorn make nan U-2 obsolete.

No replacement for nan U-2 has been announced, but immoderate expect it to beryllium nan RQ-180 drone, a stealth bomber lookalike also developed astatine Area 51 and kept astatine Beale Air Force Base. Whatever nan early holds, nan bequest of nan U-2 will unrecorded on.