Reconnaissance will outlive the U-2, but there will always be a divot in the hearts of those who have seen the curvature of the earth, the stars seemingly close enough to touch, and known the satisfaction of having completed a mission with the Dragon Lady.
Former U-2 pilot and military correspondent
Cholene Espinoza writes a lovely adieu to these beautiful,
difficult-to-fly aircraft, as well as a requiem for the era of human pilots for surveillance, giving way now to
UAVs and other remote-control drones. The U-2 is, amazingly, still in service, but apparently soon to be grounded --
or not -- half-a-century after
Francis Gary Powers' little Cold War
incident. [
Previously]
posted by chavenet
on May 12, 2010 -
36 comments
Built at
Lockheed's secret
Skunk Works facility for use by the
Central Intelligence Agency, and in service since 1950s, the
U2 spy plane has seen service all over the world (or, at the very least,
70,000 feet above it). It has shown us what both our friends and enemies were doing,
helping us avert wars, and in at least one occasion, almost
causing one itself. Today, just over 45 years since
Francis Gary Powers fell from the sky into the Soviet Union, the United States Air Force has announced from Baghdad that yet another Dragon Lady has
fallen from the sky in an undisclosed location in Southwestern Asia.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow
on Jun 22, 2005 -
37 comments
