80-1099 was photographed in flight for the first time in 17 years after being heavily damaged in a hydrazine fire in 2008. Aviation enthusiasts captured the aircraft in flight from Palmdale Airport, ...

Flying from Beale AFB, a Lockheed U-2 aircraft, using the specially chosen callsign DRAGON 70, was heard communicating with ATC about a plan to set an endurance and altitude record for the ‘category ...

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) — On the evening of July 31, a TU-2S Dragon Lady from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing took off from Beale Air Force Base to begin a flight unlike any the U-2 airframe ...

Seventy years after the Lockheed Martin U-2 spyplane made its first flight, the distinctive high-altitude jet has set a new endurance record for the type. A two-seat TU-2S trainer variant of the U-2 ...

The US Air Force celebrated the 70th anniversary of the famous U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane on July 31, 2025 – not with a cake but by setting new endurance records for the class of aircraft on the first ...

The U-2’s ability to reach 70,000 feet—an altitude that most modern fighter jets cannot match—came about after a series of remarkable design innovations.

The flight over the 48 contiguous states came just days after the U-2 Dragon Lady was the star of the show at the 2025 Royal International Air Tattoo. Last week, a Lockheed TU-2S Dragon Lady took part ...

There is currently an active force of 33 LockheedU-2s in theUS Air Force inventory. Called the 'Dragon Lady,' the ultra-high altitude spyplane can soar to such great heights that its pilots wore what ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense. Last month, the United States Air Force carried out a far from ...

The U-2 is a single-engine, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. Development began in 1954, and a prototype flew the following year. Lockheed built 49 aircraft in the initial configuration, but as ...

Even more Top Secret than the Lockheed SR-71, the D-21 drone was a promising Cold War idea that could have eliminated the need for manned overflights, although it was mostly unsuccessful. After the ...