Beale retires TU-2S #1065
Beale Air Force Base (AFB) bid farewell to TU-2S Dragon Lady tail number 1065 on January 11, 2024, as she concluded her last “fini” flight.
Arriving at Beale in 1983, 1065 faithfully served the base for about 40 years, accruing 24,042 flight hours and 11,450 missions! It is time for her to retire after such a fantastic tenure at Beale. Pilots Metro and Mongo did the honors of taking her out for her last time before Team Beale came to say, “Goodbye, and Hail Dragons!”
The U-2S
Signals, imagery, electronic measurements, and signature intelligence (MASINT) are all provided by the U-2S, a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude/near-space reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. Long and narrow wings give the U-2 glider-like characteristics and allow it to quickly lift heavy sensor payloads to unmatched altitudes, keeping them there for extended periods of time. The U-2 is capable of gathering a variety of imagery, including multi-spectral electro-optic, infrared, and synthetic aperture radar products, which can be stored or sent to ground exploitation centers. In addition, it also supports high-resolution, broad-area synoptic coverage provided by the optical bar camera, producing traditional film products that are developed and analyzed after landing.
U-2 background
Built-in complete secrecy by Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, the original U-2A first flew in August 1955. Early flights over the Soviet Union in the late 1950s provided the president and other US decision-makers with key intelligence on Soviet military capability. In October 1962, the U-2 photographed the buildup of Soviet offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, touching off the Cuban Missile Crisis. In more recent times, the U-2 has provided intelligence during operations in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. When requested, the U-2 also provides peacetime reconnaissance in support of disaster relief from floods, earthquakes, and forest fires, as well as search and rescue operations.
When the U-2R made its debut flight in 1967, it was 40 percent bigger and more powerful than the original. The TR-1A, a tactical reconnaissance version that was essentially identical to the U-2R, made its first flight in August 1981. All TR-1s and U-2s were renamed U-2Rs in 1992 after the last U-2 and TR-1 aircraft were delivered in October 1989. $1.7 billion has been spent since 1994 to update the U-2’s sensors and airframe. These upgrades also included the transition to the GE F118-101 engine, which resulted in the re-designation of all Air Force U-2 aircraft to the U-2S.
U-2s are home-based at the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale Air Force Base, California, but are rotated to operational detachments worldwide. U-2 pilots are trained at Beale using two-seat aircraft designated as TU-2S before deploying for operational missions.
Photo by U.S. Air Force via Beale AFB Facebook Page
