It is nicknamed “Dragon Lady”. It cruises at 70,000 feet and tops out at 500 mph. It can cruise for 14 hours straight. It is made by Lockheed.
In 1960, the Soviets shot down one in their air space. The incident derailed a summit between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Nikita Kruschev.
In 1962 a U-2 was shot down over Cuba during the Missile Crisis. The pilot was killed. This incident made the Crisis real for Kennedy and Kruschev. Many believe that’s why they both stepped down.
They were originally used for reconnaissance in the Cold War because satellite photography wasn’t sophisticated yet. Now they are used for many different reasons.
