Clarence “Kelly” Johnson and Lockheed’s Skunk Works built the U-2 in secret for the CIA. The “U” stood for utility, a cover for a jet meant to fly above Soviet fighters and early missiles. The first article left the ground by accident on 1 August 1955 during a taxi run at Groom Lake. The official first flight was 4 August. Overflights of the Soviet Union began on 4 July 1956.
Altitude was the design. Long, unswept wings, a thin fuselage, and low wing loading let the airplane cruise above 70,000 feet. Pilots wear a full pressure suit. At that height the margin between stall and overspeed is about ten knots. Landing gear is bicycle-style. Outrigger “pogo” wheels drop away after takeoff. A chase-car pilot talks the airplane down because the pilot cannot see the runway at touchdown.
The myth of immunity ended on 1 May 1960, when Francis Gary Powers was shot down near Sverdlovsk by an SA-2. In October 1962 the U-2 photographed Soviet missiles in Cuba. Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down over the island on 27 October, the only U.S. combat death of the crisis. Taiwan’s Black Cat Squadron lost several CIA-supported U-2s over China.
About 104 aircraft were built. The jets still flying are 1980s airframes, first delivered as TR-1s, later called U-2R, then rebuilt from 1994 as the U-2S with a GE F118-101 turbofan and modern sensors: SYERS-2C imagery, ASARS-2 radar, and signals intelligence. NASA flies two related ER-2 science aircraft. Home base is the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB.
On 31 July 2025 a TU-2S flew more than 14 hours across all 48 contiguous states, the type’s longest single flight. The Air Force wants the remaining fleet retired by the end of fiscal 2027. Congress has repeatedly limited how many can leave service. Roughly two dozen still fly.
U-2S (published figures)
- Crew: 1 (2 in TU-2S trainer)
- Powerplant: 1 × GE F118-101, 17,000 lbf
- Wingspan: 105 ft
- Length: 63 ft
- Height: 16 ft
- Empty weight: ~16,000 lb
- Max takeoff weight: 40,000 lb
- Fuel: 2,950 gal
- Payload: 5,000 lb
- Speed: 410 mph
- Range: 7,000+ miles
- Ceiling: above 70,000 ft
- Built (all variants): ~104
- First flight: August 1955
- Initial operational capability: 1956