The U2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was one of the most famous aircraft of the Cold War. Designed by Lockheed's Skunk Works division, it made its first flight in 1955, and quickly enabled the United States to carry out numerous reconnaissance missions over Soviet territory, the aircraft being beyond the reach of anti- aircraft and Soviet interceptors from the late 50s. It was a U2 that in 1962 identified the first Soviet SS-4 ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. This aircraft was also the source of a major crisis between Moscow and Washington, when Francis Gary Powers' U2 was shot down in 1960 by a Soviet SA-2 missile, and the pilot was captured by Russia. .
However, the U2 remained in service throughout the Cold War within the US Air Force. And even today, it continues, in a modernized version, to conduct reconnaissance missions for the benefit of the US Air Force, now alongside Northrop Grumman's HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) RQ-4 Global Hawk drones. According to Lockheed Martin, the U2 should still remain in service in small numbers, until 2050. The device will then be nearly 95 years since its first flight, a longevity that very few military aircraft can hope for.
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