In its Fiscal Year 2024 budget request earlier this year, the US Air Force indicated a U-2 retirement date in FY 2026. However, HQ USAF said last week that the plan is to end operations in the very first month of FY2026, eg October 2025. In a written response to my questions about the planned … Continue reading ONLY TWO MORE YEARS FOR THE DRAGON LADY?
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SUNSET IN 2026 FOR THE U-2?
A U-2ST trainer lands at Beale AFB, the home of the U-2 fleet (USAF) The US Air Force leadership is now set on retiring the Dragon Lady in Fiscal Year 2026. Oh, we’ve heard this all before, say the U-2 ‘brotherhood’. I don’t share their complacency. Let’s examine the issues in detail. Here’s what … Continue reading SUNSET IN 2026 FOR THE U-2?
U-2 RETIREMENT – HERE WE GO AGAIN!
Another budget request, another plan to retire the U-2. But don’t count on it. In the small print of the USAF’s Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) presidential budget request, there is a statement that the Dragon Lady will be “divested” in Fiscal Year 2026. But there is a glaring omission. Unlike previous budget requests, there is … Continue reading U-2 RETIREMENT – HERE WE GO AGAIN!
THE U-2, THE GLOBAL HAWK, AND PENETRATING ISR
The USAF’s draft budget for Fiscal Year 2021 is grinding its way through the Pentagon, and will emerge into the public domain next spring. Once again, the U-2’s future is under scrutiny, despite a previous decision to keep the Dragon Lady in service until at least the mid-2020s. Perhaps that is inevitable, given that the … Continue reading THE U-2, THE GLOBAL HAWK, AND PENETRATING ISR
Dragon Lady Today 