U-2

Latest in U-2

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin has confirmed that U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes have been flying missions around the border with Mexico.
Air

U-2 Spy Planes Are Flying Border Security Missions Air Force Confirms

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 14, 2025

A U2 Dragon Lady Pilot is integrated into his spacesuit for a flight to the Edge of Space. This photoshoot was done by Blair Bunting, a commercial photographer from Phoenix, AZ.
Air

Dressing For Success At 70,000-Feet Aboard The U-2 Dragon Lady

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Dec 11, 2024

The U.S. Air Force is planning to retire its remaining RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance drones by the end of the 2027 Fiscal Year. The service says it has become clear that the RQ-4s would be overly vulnerable in any future conflict against a peer or near-peer adversary, but it’s not clear what aircraft (or other assets) might fill the resulting capability gap. This only adds to the growing evidence that a top-secret, high-flying, stealth spy drone, commonly referred to as the RQ-180, or variants or derivatives thereof, is getting close to entering service, if it isn’t already being employed operationally on some level.
Air

Air Force Chief Hints At Existence Of Clandestine Spy Aircraft

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 26, 2024

Congress is moving to block the Air Force from retiring or preparing to retire any U-2 spy planes in the next fiscal year.
Air

U-2 Retirement Reprieve Emerges In Proposed Defense Spending Bill

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 4, 2024

U.S. Air Force TU-2s Dragon Lady 1078 flies to U.S. Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo normal Program Depot-level Maintenance (PDM) and be painted black, after almost three years of maintenance at Beale Air Force Base, California, Feb. 29, 2024. Aircraft 1078 was involved in an accident in 2021 that left it unable to move to Plant 42, and after passing low flight and high flight tests, was able to fly to Palmdale where Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Detachment 4 will oversee Lockheed Martin’s PDM of aircraft 1078. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexis Pentzer
Air

TU-2S Dragon Lady Resurrected For The Twilight Of The Spy Plane’s Service

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Mar 25, 2024

Beale AFB executes an elephant walk as the U-2's service approaches its end.
Air

U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Planes Execute A Bittersweet Elephant Walk

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jan 7, 2024

U-2 retirement moves forward with secretary of defense waiver sent to congress.
Air

U-2 Retirement Moves Forward With Defense Secretary Decision

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 7, 2023

U-2 Spy plane
Air

The U-2 Dragon Lady As You Have Never Seen It Before

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 6, 2023

U-2 retirement
Air

U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Planes Are Facing The Axe Again: Report

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Mar 16, 2023

Our Best Look Yet At The Chinese Spy Balloon’s Massive Payload
Air

Our Best Look Yet At The Chinese Spy Balloon’s Massive Payload

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 22, 2023

U-2 Pilot’s Selfie Flying Alongside Chinese Spy Balloon Leaks (Updated)
Air

U-2 Pilot’s Selfie Flying Alongside Chinese Spy Balloon Leaks (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Feb 21, 2023

U-2 Spy Planes Snooped On Chinese Surveillance Balloon
Air

U-2 Spy Planes Snooped On Chinese Surveillance Balloon

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Feb 6, 2023

Optical Bar Camera film retirement U2 Beale
Air

The U-2 Dragon Lady Finally Says Goodbye To Film Cameras At Beale AFB

By Emma Helfrich, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jul 1, 2022

This Is The Armada Of Spy Planes Tracking Russia’s Forces Surrounding Ukraine
News & Features

This Is The Armada Of Spy Planes Tracking Russia’s Forces Surrounding Ukraine

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Feb 19, 2022

The Secretive U-2 Spy Plane Missions Flown Out Of Norway’s Bodø Airbase
Air

The Secretive U-2 Spy Plane Missions Flown Out Of Norway’s Bodø Airbase

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Jan 6, 2022

Watch This 2021 Ford Bronco Play Chase Car For A U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Plane
Air

Watch This 2021 Ford Bronco Play Chase Car For A U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Plane

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Aug 9, 2021