U-2 reconnaissance aircraft: once used by other countries to improve their military records

U-2 reconnaissance aircraft

Speaking of the most notorious reconnaissance aircraft in the world, the U.S. military's U-2 reconnaissance aircraft must be on the list. As a reconnaissance aircraft that has been used by the US military since the 1960s, it has become our country's loser. Several aircraft have been shot down, and other countries will also use it to improve their records. As a product of the Cold War, the development history of the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft is almost synchronized with the "Cold War".

In the late 1940s, the U.S. intelligence community needed a reconnaissance aircraft that could defeat Soviet radars, air defense systems, and fighter-interceptors. At that time, B-47 bombers and other similar aircraft equipped with reconnaissance equipment were This technology is not available. Therefore, it can always be easily intercepted by Soviet aviation and cannot fully meet the requirements for collecting intelligence information over Soviet territory. In this context, the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft came into being.

The aircraft was developed by the American Lockheed Company. It secretly completed its first flight in August 1955 and began to be equipped with the U.S. Air Force in 1956. The U-2 reconnaissance aircraft can perform all-weather reconnaissance missions at an altitude of 21,336 meters day and night, providing important intelligence to decision-makers in peacetime, crises, small-scale conflicts and wars. In addition, it is also used for electronic sensor development, confirmation of satellite data and calibration. Although it has been more than fifty years since its first flight, the U-2 is still active on the front lines. One can imagine its extraordinary status in the history of the Cold War.

It has unique advantages in appearance. The aircraft is designed with an all-metal cantilever mid-wing and uses Lockheed's specialized airfoil. The fuselage is a slender circular cross-section all-metal semi-monocoque thin skin structure, with hydraulically controlled resistance plates on both sides of the rear fuselage. The cantilever all-metal structure tail has a normal layout, and the horizontal tail can be hydraulically controlled to change the installation angle around the leading edge. Due to the slender fuselage, a unique dual main wheel bicycle landing gear is used, with the main wheel and tail wheel being retracted forward into the fuselage.

The detachable nose, the cabin behind the cockpit and the equipment compartment under the wings are equipped with communication, navigation, landing instrument and other systems. However, because it is equipped with only one jet engine, the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft climbs very slowly, even slower than a civilian airliner, and requires more patience when driving.

In addition, the U-2 is equipped with a high-resolution photography combination system that can capture clear images of ground scenes within a range of 200 kilometers wide and 4,300 kilometers long at an altitude of 15,000 meters within 4 hours. , and print out 4,000 photos for intelligence analysis; synthetic aperture radar can be installed to penetrate obstacles and detect shallow underground facilities; panoramic photography, multispectral analyzers, and electronics that can receive radar signals and communication signals can also be installed Reconnaissance equipment, etc.

Although the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft is not equipped with any weapon system, it can scatter interference metal chaff when a missile strikes to interfere with the missile and protect itself. The U-2 reconnaissance aircraft is even more amazing at flying altitude, and the current U.S. Air Force's improved reconnaissance aircraft U-2S has continuously made greater progress in flying altitude and flight range. In addition, the working environment of pilots has also been greatly improved, significantly reducing the incidence of decompression sickness.

But as early as the 1960s, the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft of the Kuomintang Air Force was shot down by three missiles when it entered the firepower range of the Chinese air defense forces. From September 1959 to 1967, the aircraft made 110 sorties into the mainland, of which 5 were shot down and 2 pilots were captured alive. Therefore, the Kuomintang Air Force was forced to stop sending U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft into the mainland for deep activities. The U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by the Chinese army and became a hot topic in world public opinion at that time.