U-2

The Lockheed U-2 is a ultra high altitude reconnaissance aircraft that has an impressive ceiling of more than 70,000 feet, making it one of the very best aircrafts designed for high altitude reconnaissance missions. The U-2 otherwise known as “dragon lady”,  has a cruising speed of 475mph and a top speed of 500mph. The nickname “Dragon lady” was first introduced because the long wingspan gave the U-2 a gliding like characteristic, which made it very unforgiving for the pilots if they were to make one wrong move. However, the U-2 mission success rate is 95%. It was first produce in 1955 for the United States Air force and was formerly used by the CIA and the Republic of China Air Force. There has been a total of 104 U-2 reconnaissance aircraft produced over a span of 23 years. All 104 U-2 aircrafts were manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Moreover, the U-2 aircraft propulsion is powered by one General Electric F-118-01 engine. The compression is caused by two spool, axial flow, and a three-stage fan. Next, the F-118-01 engine produced roughly 17,000 pounds of thrust and has a thrust-weight ratio of 5.4. The length of the engine is 110 inches and has a diameter of 47 inches. The U-2 has a fuel capacity of 2,950 gallons and has a range of more than 6,090 nautical miles. Further, the U-2 has a wing span of 105 feet (32 meters), and has a length of 63 feet (19.2 meters). The height of the aircraft is 16 feet (4.8 meters). Moreover, the U-2 aircraft has many reconnaissance tools; which includes: electro-optical infrared camera, optical bar camera, advanced synthetic aperture radar, and much more. Today, the U-2 aircraft is still active.

 Lockheed Martin.