U-2: STILL A HANDFUL,
BUT STILL GOING STRONG
I
N MAY, I was lucky enough to
visit the US Air Force’s 380th Air
Expeditionary Wing at Al Dhafra
Air Base, which includes the 99th
Expeditionary Reconnaissance
Squadron. This unique unit
ies the RQ-4 Global Hawk and the
Lockheed U-2S.
Riding in the chase car as one of the
squadron’s U-2s returned from a combat
mission, Rick Bishop’s feature in this
issue was planted rmly in my mind. As
I watched the pilot skilfully nurse the
U-2 onto the hot tarmac at Al Dhafra in
a tricky crosswind I was reminded of the
exacting landing speeds and techniques
that are so eloquently described in this
month’s feature.
It gave me a new perspective and
admiration for the skilled ‘Dragon Lady’
pilots, who, after more than nine hours
aloft, must y the trickiest part of the
whole sortie — the landing.The U-2 community is rightly secretive
and immensely proud of what it does.
It’s a branch of the USAF that quietly
gets the mission done, with some
incredible people working in concert
every single day to ensure valuable
intelligence reaches those in command.
A full feature from Al Dhafra will
appear in next month’s issue.
To keep track of the latest breaking news
and analysis in the world of military air
power you can visit our social media sites
and our website: http://www.combataircraft.net.
You can also sign up for our free e-mail
newsletter by going to
http://www.combataircraft.net to register.Jamie Hunter,
Editor
E-mail: [email protected]http://www.combataircraft.net // July 2018 05
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