"Beale identifies U-2 pilot killed in crash" .....

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Fonte ..... "Beale U-2s Fly Again After Fatal Crash" .....The U-2’s worldwide flying operations were not disrupted by Tuesday’s crash near Beale AFB, Calif., the Air Force announced Friday.
Beale temporarily stopped flying training missions after the fatal crash that claimed the life of Lt. Col. Ira S. Eadie.
Fonte: AINonline ..... "Reprieve Likely for U-2 Dragon Lady" .....The U.S. Air Force is preparing to extend the service life of the U-2S Dragon Lady for several more years.
Under previous budget plans, the evergreen spyplane was due to be retired in 2019-20, leaving only the unmanned RQ-4B Global Hawk to perform the high-altitude reconnaissance mission.
Managers at the Lockheed Martin (LM) Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, are preparing upgrade proposals for the U-2’s sensors and communications fit.
Gen. “Hawk” Carlisle, who retired last week as commander of Air Combat Command, told AIN last November that “we’re trying to find the money” to retain the U-2.
Now a senior Air Force official has told the Skunk Works that the 27-strong fleet will be retained until at least the mid-2020s.
“There’s a lot more runway in this jet yet,” said Kyle Franklin, the new U-2 program manager for LM.
“We could offer a quantum leap in capability,” he told AIN last week.
Fonte: AFA ..... "U-2 Pilots, Maintainers Work to Overcome Extreme Heat" .....July in the Middle East means triple-digit temperatures and extreme humidity that makes the outside air feel more like a solid than a gas.
It’s a challenge for everyone in the region, but the heat really takes a toll on the U-2, a pilot told Air Force Magazine.
“It’s hot, super hot.
And the U-2 does great flying at altitude, it handles great, it cools down the cockpit great, but once you start getting down to the ground, it’s not happy,” Maj. J.J. said in a phone interview from an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia (the Air Force does not release the full names of pilots operating downrange).
J.J., a U-2 pilot with the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, said the aircraft “doesn’t like the heat,” but the pilots know that.
L'articolo ... flightglobal.com ... "Raytheon developing new Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar for U-2" ...Raytheon is developing a new version of its air-to-ground Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASARS-2B) to be mounted on Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady surveillance aircraft.
The company says it has a $320 million undefinitized contract with the US Air Force to develop the new radar.
... flightglobal.com ... "U-2 spyplane fleet gets new high-powered camera" ...The US Air Force (USAF) fleet of Lockheed Martin U-2 Dragon Lady spyplanes recently have completed flight testing and installation of the Collins Aerospace Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS-2C).
The electro-optical and infrared camera is to provide more precise, long-range tracking of stationary or moving targets in a wider range of weather conditions, says Lockheed Martin on 18 February (*).
The sensor was also built with open mission systems architecture, which should enable easier sharing of data with fifth-generation combat aircraft, such as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor.
... flightglobal.com ... "U-2 to get avionics, mission computer update" ...Lockheed Martin recently secured a $50 million US Air Force contract to update the venerable U-2 spy plane.
The project involves three elements: a new avionics suite, a new mission computer, and modern cockpit displays, says Lockheed (*).
Designed to the new USAF open mission systems (OMS) standard, the new mission computer will allow the aircraft to integrate “with systems across air, space, sea, land and cyber domains at disparate security levels.”
… aviationweek.com … U.S. Air Force Flies U-2 With A.I. Wingman …The U.S. Air Force for the first time flew a Lockheed Martin U-2 Dragon Lady with the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm on Dec. 15.
A human pilot referenced as a major with the call sign “Vudu,” flew the aircraft assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB in California, while the algorithm named “ARTUµ” conducted sensor employment, tactical navigation and coordinated with the pilot on a reconnaissance mission during a simulated missile strike.
After takeoff, ARTUµ took control of the sensor and was charged with finding enemy launchers, while the pilot watched for threatening aircraft.
Both shared the radar; the U-2 uses Raytheon’s Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System.
The enemy was a competing dynamic computer algorithm.
… thedrive.com/the-war-zone … The U-2 Dragon Lady Finally Says Goodbye To Film Cameras At Beale AFB …When was the last time you got your camera's film developed at a 1-hour photo?
You can't remember, can you?
Neither can we!
Well, the folks at Beale Air Force Base in California have continued to process large amounts of film long after the digital imaging revolution swept massive brand names like Kodak and Fuji Film to the back of the public's consciousness.
The U.S. Air Force’s 9th Reconnaissance Wing says that the U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane has flown Beale Air Force Base’s last Optical Bar Camera, or OBC, mission.
In service for over half a century with the U-2, the OBC is one of the high-flying plane's oldest sensor systems.
Making its exit from Beale truly marks the end of an era in more ways than one.
A Dragon Lady piloted by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ralph Shoukry flew the last sortie with the OBC from Beale - the home of the U-2 community - on June 24.
Upon its return to the base, technicians ceremoniously lowered the sensor out of the jet one final time.
Because the OBC is a wet film camera, its last flight from the base also effectively ended wet film processing at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing.
With that, Beale's U-2s have finally fully embraced the digital imaging age.
… airandspaceforces.com … USAF Will Retire the U-2 in 2026. Until Then, Expect ‘Unique, Innovative’ Uses …L'USAF prevede di ritirare la sua flotta di U-2 Dragon Lady nell'anno fiscale 2026, ma fino ad allora, i funzionari dicono che stanno lavorando sodo per mantenere in volo gli iconici velivoli di sorveglianza ad alta quota e testare la tecnologia che potrebbe essere utilizzata sui futuri aerei ...