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- Published
- By Tech. Sgt. Perry Aston
- Airman Magazine
The U-2S is a high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft providing signals and imagery intelligence and has the ability to detect radar, acoustic, nuclear, chemical and biological signatures. The plane’s long, high-profile wings give the U-2 glider-like flight while the fuel-efficient engine eliminated the need for aerial refueling on long missions. Flying at 70,000 feet the pilot must wear a full pressure suit to survive.
The plane quickly earned the nickname “Dragon lady” because of its reputation of being difficult to fly even for the most experienced pilots. The combination of being light and needing to fly at high altitudesmade it difficult to control. The thin air created a threshold of just 13mph between stalling and going too fast to control. Its bicycle-type landing gear requires a second U-2 pilot to follow the plane in a chase car, providing radio inputs to guide the pilot while landing.
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Development and Design
The U-2 was the first aircraft in the U.S. to be designed from the ground-up as a reconnaissance plane. Before development of the U-2, the U.S. would mount cameras to fighter jets or bombers. These platforms flew at altitudes within range of Soviet air defense systems which made it impossible to safely penetrate Soviet airspace to gather intelligence on how far along their nuclear weapons technology was and the location of their bomber force.
The U-2 was designed by the legendary Kelly Johnson, known for designing the U.S.’s first operational jet fighter (P-80 Shooting Star) and would later design the SR-71 Blackbird along with over 40 other airframes during his time as head of Lockheed Martin’s advanced development programs, also known as Skunk Works.
Johnson’s small team of engineers developed the airframe in just 8 months, and submitted an unsolicited entry to the Air Force who was also requesting entries for high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The test aircraft, the CL-282, was an F-104 Starfighter with exceptionally long wings, one engine, no armor, no ejection seat, or landing gear. The Air Force at first selected the Bell X-16 which had traditional landing gear and two engines. The Intelligence Systems Panel, a civilian group advising the USAF and CIA on aerial reconnaissance convinced the Air Force and CIA to jointly fund the U-2 project.
One of the U-2’s most unique features is its landing gear. Initially, Johnson wanted the aircraft to have no landing gear–instead taking off from a wheeled dolly and landing on its belly. The flight test program became difficult to perform as the belly of the aircraft had to be repaired after every landing. The engineers instead installed a dual-wheeled main landing gear and a dual-wheeled tail wheel along the centerline of the fuselage. Flexible struts were used to support the massive 105-foot wingspan on the ground, which would fall away when the aircraft took off.
In 1994 the Air Force invested $1.7 billion modernizing the U-2. These upgrades included a 30 percent larger airframe, a new all glass co*ckpit, upgraded avionics, and fiber optic communication capabilities and sensor systems.
The U-2 outlasted its faster counterpart, the SR-71 Blackbird, and continues to be the go-to reconnaissance platform because of its ability to carry a large sensor payload customized to different mission requirements.
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