Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The screaming sound from the single General Electric F118-101 turbofan engine, pushing out 17,000 lbf (76 kN) of thrust as Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady (callsign Dragon 21) departs from RAF Fairford, UK on Tuesday 21 January 2025 to return back to its squadron home at Beale Air Force Base, California, USA. This U-2S was on its eleventh visit at RAF Fairford, having arrived for this deployment on 5 March 2024.
The aircraft is operated by the United States Air Force, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron.
This aircraft was originally built as a TR-1A. It was transferred to the 17th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) and its flying component, the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron, based at RAF Alconbury, UK during February 1983, together with TR-1A 80-1068. It was transferred to 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW) in May 1988.
It was converted from a TR-1A to a U-2R, with the Senior Span data link installed, during 1988 and remained at RAF Alconbury.
During February 1995 the aircraft was reconfigured as a U-2S.
Built in complete secrecy by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, the original U-2A first flew in August 1955. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided key intelligence on Soviet military capability. In October 1962, the U-2 photographed the buildup of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, touching off the Cuban Missile Crisis. More recently the U-2 has provided intelligence during operations in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The U-2 also provides peacetime reconnaissance in support of disaster relief from floods, earthquakes, and forest fires as well as search and rescue operations.
The U-2R, first flown in 1967, was 40 percent larger and more capable than the original. A tactical reconnaissance version, the TR-1A, first flew in August 1981 and was structurally identical to the U-2R. The last U-2 and TR-1 aircraft were delivered in October 1989; in 1992 all TR-1s and U-2s were designated as U-2Rs. Since 1994, $1.7 billion has been invested to modernize the U-2 airframe and sensors. These upgrades also included changing to the General Electric GE F118-101 engine which resulted in the re-designation of all Air Force U-2 aircraft to the U-2S.
U-2s are home based at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, California, but rotated to operational detachments worldwide. U-2 pilots are trained at Beale AFB using five two-seat aircraft designated as TU-2S.
The U-2S is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude/near space reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft providing signals, imagery, and electronic measurements and signature intelligence, or MASINT. Long and narrow wings give the U-2 glider-like characteristics and allow it to quickly lift heavy sensor payloads to unmatched altitudes, keeping them there for extended periods of time. The U-2 is capable of gathering a variety of imagery, including multi-spectral electro-optic, infrared, and synthetic aperture radar products which can be stored or sent to ground exploitation centres. In addition, it also supports high-resolution, broad-area synoptic coverage provided by the optical bar camera producing traditional film products which are developed and analysed after landing.
The U-2 also carries a signals intelligence payload. All intelligence products except for wet film can be transmitted in near real-time anywhere in the world via air-to-ground or air-to-satellite data links, rapidly providing critical information to combatant commanders. MASINT provides indications of recent activity in areas of interest and reveals efforts to conceal the placement or true nature of man-made objects.
Routinely flown at altitudes over 70,000 feet, the U-2 pilot must wear a full pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts. The low-altitude handling characteristics of the aircraft and bicycle-type landing gear require precise control inputs during landing; forward visibility is also limited due to the extended aircraft nose and "taildragger" configuration.
The U-2 is powered by a lightweight, fuel efficient General Electric F118-101 engine, which negates the need for air refueling on long missions. The U-2S Block 10 electrical system upgrade replaced legacy wiring with advanced fibre-optics and lowered the electronic noise signature to give a quieter platform for the newest sensors.
The aircraft has the following sensor packages: electro-optical infrared camera, optical bar camera, advanced synthetic aperture radar, signals intelligence, and network-centric communication.
There are 32 U-2S airframes currently in service with the USAF, from a total of 104 built.
This Video and Audio content is
Copyright © StephenKeeler (HightFlight/SkyHighFlightTV) All Rights Reserved
The screaming sound from the single General Electric F118-101 turbofan engine, pushing out 17,000 lbf (76 kN) of thrust as Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady (callsign Dragon 21) departs from RAF Fairford, UK on Tuesday 21 January 2025 to return back to its squadron home at Beale Air Force Base, California, USA. This U-2S was on its eleventh visit at RAF Fairford, having arrived for this deployment on 5 March 2024.
The aircraft is operated by the United States Air Force, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron.
This aircraft was originally built as a TR-1A. It was transferred to the 17th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) and its flying component, the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron, based at RAF Alconbury, UK during February 1983, together with TR-1A 80-1068. It was transferred to 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (SRW) in May 1988.
It was converted from a TR-1A to a U-2R, with the Senior Span data link installed, during 1988 and remained at RAF Alconbury.
During February 1995 the aircraft was reconfigured as a U-2S.
Built in complete secrecy by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, the original U-2A first flew in August 1955. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided key intelligence on Soviet military capability. In October 1962, the U-2 photographed the buildup of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, touching off the Cuban Missile Crisis. More recently the U-2 has provided intelligence during operations in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The U-2 also provides peacetime reconnaissance in support of disaster relief from floods, earthquakes, and forest fires as well as search and rescue operations.
The U-2R, first flown in 1967, was 40 percent larger and more capable than the original. A tactical reconnaissance version, the TR-1A, first flew in August 1981 and was structurally identical to the U-2R. The last U-2 and TR-1 aircraft were delivered in October 1989; in 1992 all TR-1s and U-2s were designated as U-2Rs. Since 1994, $1.7 billion has been invested to modernize the U-2 airframe and sensors. These upgrades also included changing to the General Electric GE F118-101 engine which resulted in the re-designation of all Air Force U-2 aircraft to the U-2S.
U-2s are home based at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, California, but rotated to operational detachments worldwide. U-2 pilots are trained at Beale AFB using five two-seat aircraft designated as TU-2S.
The U-2S is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude/near space reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft providing signals, imagery, and electronic measurements and signature intelligence, or MASINT. Long and narrow wings give the U-2 glider-like characteristics and allow it to quickly lift heavy sensor payloads to unmatched altitudes, keeping them there for extended periods of time. The U-2 is capable of gathering a variety of imagery, including multi-spectral electro-optic, infrared, and synthetic aperture radar products which can be stored or sent to ground exploitation centres. In addition, it also supports high-resolution, broad-area synoptic coverage provided by the optical bar camera producing traditional film products which are developed and analysed after landing.
The U-2 also carries a signals intelligence payload. All intelligence products except for wet film can be transmitted in near real-time anywhere in the world via air-to-ground or air-to-satellite data links, rapidly providing critical information to combatant commanders. MASINT provides indications of recent activity in areas of interest and reveals efforts to conceal the placement or true nature of man-made objects.
Routinely flown at altitudes over 70,000 feet, the U-2 pilot must wear a full pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts. The low-altitude handling characteristics of the aircraft and bicycle-type landing gear require precise control inputs during landing; forward visibility is also limited due to the extended aircraft nose and "taildragger" configuration.
The U-2 is powered by a lightweight, fuel efficient General Electric F118-101 engine, which negates the need for air refueling on long missions. The U-2S Block 10 electrical system upgrade replaced legacy wiring with advanced fibre-optics and lowered the electronic noise signature to give a quieter platform for the newest sensors.
The aircraft has the following sensor packages: electro-optical infrared camera, optical bar camera, advanced synthetic aperture radar, signals intelligence, and network-centric communication.
There are 32 U-2S airframes currently in service with the USAF, from a total of 104 built.
This Video and Audio content is
Copyright © StephenKeeler (HightFlight/SkyHighFlightTV) All Rights Reserved
