When Lockheed Martin released this photo of the jet that was testing the Open Mission Systems (OMS) a few months ago, I was intrigued. It had no tail number! That reminded me of the good old days, when both the CIA and the US Air Force pulled similar tricks in the name of security, removing … Continue reading A STUPID TALE ABOUT TAIL NUMBERS

Lockheed Martin (LM) has upped its game at the U-2 Dragon Lady overhaul facility in Palmdale. At a change of command ceremony there on 3 September, Air Force and company managers praised the workforce for delivering 12 consecutive jets out of Programed Depot Maintenance (PDM) with zero defects. The ceremony marked the departure of Maj … Continue reading AIR FORCE PRAISES U-2 DEPOT IN HANDOVER CEREMONY

I wrote an article on this exciting development for AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS, where I am the Defense Editor. You can find it here.

Some 450 people are expected at the big bash to mark the 60th anniversary of the U-2 on 12th September. Unlike some other reunion groups, the Dragon Lady Association does not meet every year. So the celebration at Beale AFB and in Sacramento will be a precious chance to renew old friendships and recall times … Continue reading 60 YEARS OF THE U-2 DRAGON LADY

This is a perennial topic of discussion, and it’s peppered with falsehoods. Joe Public often fails to realize that the last of the original U-2s that were built in 1955-57, were retired by 1980. That’s 35 years ago! The USAF’s top ISR officer has contributed to the debate. Speaking last February at a breakfast meeting … Continue reading JUST HOW ‘OLD’ IS THE U-2 ?

Upon receiving some cost-per-flying hour data for FY2014 recently, Northrop Grumman quickly issued a statement claiming that the Global Hawk’s CPFH was now “half the cost of the manned alternative.” That alternative is the U-2, of course. Hmmm. To properly evaluate that statement, requires a good understanding of the detailed methodology that the number-crunchers use … Continue reading THE COST-PER-FLYING HOUR DEBATE

I wrote in the closing paragraphs of DRAGON LADY TODAY that if – as widely supposed - a stealthy, high-flying ISR platform was in development at Groom Lake, it might not be affordable as a one-for-one replacement for the U-2. Aviation Week calls this platform the RQ-180, but I prefer Penetrating-ISR or P-ISR, since that … Continue reading A SECRET AND STEALTHY U-2 REPLACEMENT – WHAT’S THE LATEST?

The Pentagon bowed to pressure and reinstated the U-2 for another five years when it sent the FY2016 defense budget to Congress in early February 2015. But that budget is deliberately set at a much higher total than would be permitted, if Congress does not in the meantime amend or repeal the Budget Control Act. … Continue reading USAF WOULD DUMP U-2 FLEET, IF SEQUESTRATION RETURNS