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LOCKHEEDS LEGENDARY U-2 "DRAGON LADY"

She managed to survive the introduction of spy satellites with high definition cameras, and the current development of reconnaissance drones like DarkStar and Global Hawk will not harm her. On the contrary: During the last few years the Lockheed U-2, known to the US Air Force as "Dragon Lady", was busier than ever.

According to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, which has been responsible for the deployment of the U-2 since July 1976, the number of missions has doubled since the-mid 80s. The U-2s home base is Beale AFB (California) and they are stationed at four other bases abroad:

• The 5th Reconnaissance Squadron flies from the Osan Air Base in South Korea. The border along the 37th latitude has been patrolled for over twenty years. Usually two aircraft are stationed there.
• Since 1974 The Detachment 1 in Akrotiri (Cyprus), has been responsible for the monitoring of the Israeli-Arabian peace agreement. There are two U-2s available here as well.
• Istres is the Operating Location in France (OL-F). It was created in 1995, after flights across the former Yugoslavia initially took off from Alconbury and Fairford in England. Istres gives the Dragon Ladies an enormous hangar and a 5,000meter long landing strip. However, the crosswind caused by the Mistral can lead to problems. During this summer the U-2 flew from Aviano in Italy, because of repair work to the runway at Istres.
• Since the Gulf War the 4402 Reconnaissance Squadron (Provisional) has been stationed in Taif (Saudi-Arabia). Flights are being carried out on the instruction of the United Nations to control Iraqi weapons production.

The U-2's world wide deployment places a tremendous strain on pilots and ground crew. 150 to160 days TDY (Temporary Duty) at one of the foreign bases is the rule. A "tour" normally lasts two months, then you return to Beale to the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, which is responsible for the management of the aircraft fleet and staff.

Before the pilots are transferred to the 99th RS, they have to master the "Initial Qualification" and the "Mission Qualification" courses at the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron, which last between five to seven months. Selection procedures are very strict. One is looking for officers with an "extraordinary combination of excellent command of the aircraft and healthy common sense". During U-2 missions the pilot is "very often thousands of miles away from the nearest friendyl airbase and has to rely solely on his skills," this is part of the job description. Apart from that the U-2 is without doubt the US military aircraft, which is the most difficult to land.

Part of the formal criteria for transfer to the U-2 squadron is top marks in all areas, a reference by the Wing Commander and at least 1,500 flight hours, 900 of which flying jets.

At the moment about 40 per cent of the applicants are being accepted. To start with they complete five training flights in the U-2 two-seater. The first solo flight follows after a successful "check flight". After this, further, more complex missions follow, which realistically simulate the actual deployment until the pilot masters the reconnaissance programs.

As mentioned before, the U-2 isn't an easy craft to fly, especially if you consider the long duration of missions and the uncomfortable pressure suit. At least the automatic pilot has recently been modernised. The handling of the engine, which used to be very difficult, is also a thing of the past. The General Electric F118-GE-101 has been fitted with FADEC, (fully electronic control).

The U-2's refitting with the new turbofan to bring it up to U-2S standard is almost complete, after the last aircraft was transferred to the Lockheed factory in Palmdale in February. The first tests with this engine, which is also part of the B-2 "Spirit", have already been carried out in 1989, (maiden flight: 23rd May with Ken Weir at the helm). From 1994 the other aircraft were re-equipped. The first U-2S aircraft were handed back to the USAF during a ceremony on 28 October 1994.

The F118 does not provide much more thrust than the Pratt & Whitney J75-P-13B from the 50s. It needs, however, much less maintenance and uses 16 per cent less fuel. On top of this the installation weighs 550 kg less, despite the additional starter. This is a decisive factor, since the U-2 had "put on" a lot of extra weight, which caused it to loose height and range.

Additional systems and sensors cause this weight gain. After their overhaul the U-2S have been rewired, so that they can be fitted with numerous pieces of equipment depending on the mission. They are mostly fitted in the exchangeable nose, in the Q-Bay behind the cockpit and in the big super pods, which are situated underneath the wings. Among the known reconnaissance systems are:

• ASARS-2 by Raytheon, (formerly Hughes). This synthetic aperture radar supplies high-resolution pictures of the battlefield and allows pursuit of moving targets. The system was recently fitted with new antennas. Their beam is electronically controlled in the horizontal axis.
• SYSERS, is an electro-optical system, which also works in the infrared spectrum. It was developed in the mid-80s by Itek. The data are kept secret, but they are certainly better than systems of this supplier, which are commercially on offer and work with detection modules made up of more than 10,000 pixels.
• IRIS III, a panorama camera with a 60-cm-lens: The angle of vision is about 70 degrees to the side. This means a 60 km wide area underneath the aircraft can be covered.
• H-Camera with 167-cm-telephoto lens: The extremely small angle of vision, i.e. only a three km wide strip can be viewed directly below the aircraft. This requires very exact navigation.
• OBC-Panoramic Camera with 76-cm-lens;
• Equipment to gather air samples;
• Senior Spear Comint-System to listen to a wide spectrum of radio frequencies;
• Senior Ruby Elint System for the surveillance of radar systems and other broadcasters;

• DDL (Dual Data Link), which allows communication with two ground stations;
• CCT (Commanders Tactical Terminal), which also allows to stay in touch with the ground;
• SPAN, for radio links with satellites. To achieve this, a container is fitted on the back of the fuselage, in which a movable aerial with a diameter of 76 cm is installed.
• SPUR, which is another satellite link.

Today these data links are a decisive factor. Initially the CIA used the U-2 for strategic reconnaissance. Today, however, it is mainly local commanders, who are provided with information by it. And they want a very detailed picture of the situation, preferably in real time.

Typical are deployments where data are transferred to a MOBSTR-Ground Station, e. g. in Italy. These direct links still are the most effective, when compared with satellite links. In MOBSTR, information is sorted out, formatted and compressed and is then sent via satellite to be centrally evaluated in Beale.

The Deployable Ground station (DGS-2), which has been in use since 1994/95 could be airlifted. However, to shift the 22 shelters, 70 pallets and more than 200 staff, six C-5 Galaxy transporters would be needed. It is therefore much easier to have data sent to the home base, which also makes life for the intelligence experts from the 48th and 13th Squadron easier.

Just like the Dragon Lady's hundred pilots, they will be kept very busy. Until the time comes, when unmanned systems will become generally accepted, the U-2 will cast its beady eye on all the trouble spots which are important to the US superpower.

From page 12 of FLUG REVUE 10/98