U-2 aircraft details

The U-2 was developed by the American Lockheed Martin Company and first flew in 1955. Used by the U.S. Air Force and CIA to detect strategic targets behind enemy lines, it can now be used as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft. For decades, it has fought around the world and scouted the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, China, Vietnam and other countries, but more than a dozen of them were shot down in enemy airspace.

The U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, nicknamed "Black Widow", is a high-altitude spy reconnaissance aircraft developed by Martin Company. It conducted its first test flight on August 4, 1955, and planned to produce 55 aircraft. It was one of the important sources of information for the United States during the Cold War era.

The U-2 flies at an altitude of 25,000m and is equipped with a special camera for reconnaissance. It takes photos of confidential information mainly on the deployment status of ballistic missiles in the Soviet Union and other socialist camps. The prototype of the aircraft is an F-104. In order to allow it to reach a higher altitude than normal and avoid being shot down, it has huge wings.

Due to technological advances in fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, high-altitude reconnaissance is very dangerous. It was first shot down over the Soviet city of Sverdlov in May 1960, and the U.S. Air Force ceased use in 1970. However, with the advancement of electronic/optical sensors (loading capacity is about 1.36 tons), reconnaissance satellites can collect intelligence directly from geostationary satellite orbits. An improved version of the U-2, the SR-71, used for reconnaissance in the Gulf and Bosnia areas.

ER-2, a modified version of U-2, is used as a NASA research aircraft for atmospheric measurements.

The U-2 aircraft adopts a normal aerodynamic layout, the wing is a large aspect ratio mid-wing, and its power unit is a J57 (thrust of 48.9 kN) or J75-P-B engine. The flight altitude is more than 25,000m in the stratosphere, which is more than twice that of ordinary aircraft. The surface of the aircraft is painted black to avoid reflecting sunlight, and the wings are enlarged to give it the characteristics of a glider. When the aircraft takes off, there are auxiliary sliders on both ends of the wings. When landing, the wing ends are in contact with the ground and land first, then slide with the helpers. move. The maximum speed during flight is only 18km per hour, and it is considered the most difficult military aircraft to control.

In order to reduce weight, the fuselage has an all-metal thin skin structure, and the fuselage is very slender, which also causes the U-2 to have obvious shortcomings. When the Soviet Red Army used a surface-to-air missile to attack in 1960, the missile exploded near the aircraft body. The air wave generated by the explosion caused the aircraft to fall. The aircraft body was severely damaged before the fall. Pilots wear special pressurized suits. According to reports, the pressurized suits are used by astronauts and have life support devices.