Phyr8642 t1_j9gfv5q wrote on February 21, 2023 at 7:37 PM

No shit. We still fly those?

Dr_StrangeloveGA t1_j9hti5k wrote on February 22, 2023 at 1:54 AM

Quite a bit, actually. Real time intelligence that satellites can't provide, relatively inexpensive to operate compared the SR-71.

spekt50 t1_j9i30z8 wrote on February 22, 2023 at 3:05 AM

And doesn't leak all its fuel on the tarmac to boot.

Dr_StrangeloveGA t1_j9ihwgj wrote on February 22, 2023 at 5:12 AM

Well yes. And doesn't require a space shuttle type of support. U2 doesn't require the air and ground resources of the SR-71.

The difference between a U2 and and SR-71 is like Nascar vs F1. Very different flight charistics and missions.

MIAMarc t1_j9gtixt wrote on February 21, 2023 at 9:47 PM

Yes. We keep a few on hand for atmospheric research and also situation like what happened.

Phyr8642 t1_j9gyt70 wrote on February 21, 2023 at 10:20 PM

Huh, cool, today I learned.

[deleted] t1_j9hc9bg wrote on February 21, 2023 at 11:50 PM

[removed]

Gregory_malenkov t1_j9ix5k7 wrote on February 22, 2023 at 8:09 AM

NASA has a few that they operate for this purpose. The USAF still operates a fleet of around 30 U2s, for real-time intelligence gathering that’s just not really possible for satellites.