Morning Overview on MSN

Why landing the U-2 may be one of the hardest jobs in the sky

The Lockheed U-2 was built to slip above hostile airspace, not to make pilots look good in the traffic pattern. Its long, glider-like wings and spindly landing gear that work so well at the edge of ...
WBAY

U.S. Air Force to bring U-2 aircraft as part of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025

OSHKOSH, Wis. (EAA) - As provided to Action 2 News: EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025 will feature one of the most popular intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, as the United States ...
bobsurgranny on MSN

The Lockheed U-2 leaves the ground with a glider-like leap

A Lockheed U-2 spy plane accelerates down the runway and lifts off in just seconds, its long glider-like wings generating lift almost immediately. As the aircraft climbs away, the unmistakable howl of ...
The Aviationist

U-2 Dragon Lady Breaks Altitude and Endurance Records During 70th Anniversary Flight

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 ...
Forbes

U-2: World’s Highest Man, For A Few Minutes Anyway

Forbes writer Jim Clash en route to 70,000 feet in a U-2 spy plane, Beale AFB, August 21, 2024. It’s extremely rare for a civilian - even a journalist - to score an edge-of-space ride in the backseat ...
The Aviationist

Last Production U-2 Returns to Flight for First Time Since 2008

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, ...
New Atlas

U-2 spy plane celebrates 70th anniversary with new flight records

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 ...
Forbes

U-2 Twilight Landings At Beale Provide A Spectacular Show

A few years ago, I visited Beale AFB near Sacramento, California, for a series of Forbes stories about operations there (links below). The military base is home to the venerable U-2 and a fleet of ...
The National Interest

Why the U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Plane Is an Astonishing Feat of Engineering

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 Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady routinely ...
Flightglobal

U-2S high-altitude spyplane makes rare public display at UK air show

Two of the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) distinctive high-altitude spyplanes made a rare public appearance at a UK air show over the weekend. The Lockheed Martin U-2S Dragon Lady jets participated in the ...
Flightglobal

U-2 sets new endurance record 70 years after first flight

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 ...