![]() Members of a unit innocuously designated 2nd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (Provisional), began to arrive at Adana Air Base in Turkey in August 1956. The U-2 made its first flight in August 1955, with famed Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier, at the controls, and began operational service in 1956. "Kelly" Johnson at Lockheed's "Skunk Works" in Burbank, CA. Eisenhower authorized Operation OVERFLIGHT - covert reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union - after the Soviets flatly rejected his Open Skies plan, which would have allowed aircraft from both countries to openly overfly each other's territory.Īn unusual single-engine aircraft with sailplane-like wings, it was the product of a team headed by Clarence L. The Lockheed Skunkworks CL-282 aircraft was approved for production by the CIA, under the code-name AQUATONE, with Richard M. The product of a remarkable collaboration between the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States Air Force, Lockheed Corporation, and other suppliers, the U-2 collected intelligence that revolutionized American intelligence analysis of the Soviet threat. ![]() Because of its high altitude mission, the pilot must wear a full pressure suit. However, the aircraft can be a difficult aircraft to fly due to its unusual landing characteristics. ![]() It can carry a variety of sensors and cameras, is an extremely reliable reconnaissance aircraft, and enjoys a high mission completion rate. Long, wide, straight wings give the U-2 glider-like characteristics. The U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude, reconnaissance aircraft. When requested, the U-2 also has provided photographs to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in support of disaster relief. It provides critical intelligence to decision makers through all phases of conflict, including peacetime indications and warnings, crises, low-intensity conflict and large-scale hostilities. The U-2 provides continuous day or night, high-altitude, all-weather, stand-off surveillance of an area in direct support of U.S.
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