New Defense Budget: Will It Ground Famous U-2 Spy Plane? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor
The defense budget unveiled Monday calls for eliminating funds for the U-2 spy plane. But the cold-war-era U-2 has been on the chopping block before – and managed to survive. Why is that?
Is the Dragon Lady going to be grounded for good? That’s the implication of President Obama’s fiscal year 2015 military budget, outlined Monday by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Among the many trims it contains is the elimination of funds for the U-2 “Dragon Lady” spy plane. The famed aircraft would be retired – finally – in favor of the long-range Global Hawk drone.
We say “finally” because budgeters have been trying to get rid of the U-2 for years. But the plane has proved its versatility and importance again and again in real-world conflicts. In Afghanistan, U-2s with upgraded sensors could spot soil disturbances that hinted at the placement of roadside bombs. More recently, in Syria, U-2s tracked the regime's chemical weapon-related activity.
It’s possible the U-2 will yet avoid the budget ax. The plane flies higher than the Global Hawk, an important advantage in overhead espionage, and carries a wider array of sensing equipment. For these and other reasons, the Air Force leadership would prefer the manned aircraft over the drone.
Read more ....
Update #1: Drones are finally driving the U-2 spy plane out of business -- Quartz
Update #2: Editorial: Don't Scrap the U-2 -- Defense News
My Comment: The above is an amazing video of a U-2 flight.
Update #3: The story of the first U-2 spy missions over Soviet Union -- The Aviationist
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