Lockheed U-2

what is it?

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed the "Dragon Lady", is an American single-engine, high–altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since the 1950s. Designed for all-weather, day-and-night intelligence gathering at altitudes above 70,000 feet (21,300 meters), the U-2 has played a pivotal role in aerial surveillance for decades. Lockheed Corporation originally proposed the aircraft in 1953.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · mid wing · 31.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 765 km/hcruise speed
• range 11,279 kmwithout refuelling
• size 18.1 tmax take-off weight
• built 104made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 71 years ago, in 1955.
• 🚗Wingspan of 31.4 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 3 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 11,279 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 2.8× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1955-08-01

introduced

1956

status

still flying

number built

104

role

high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Lockheed Corporation

engines

1× General Electric F118-101

crew

1

length

19.2 m

wingspan

31.4 m

height

4.9 m

max take-off weight

18.1 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

765 km/h

range

11,279 km

ceiling

24,384 m

wings

mid wing

landing gear

tandem gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.