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A U2 Dragon Lady Pilot is integrated into his spacesuit for a flight to the Edge of Space. This photoshoot was done by Blair Bunting, a commercial photographer from Phoenix, AZ.

Dressing For Success At 70,000-Feet Aboard The U-2 Dragon Lady

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Dec 11, 2024
The U.S. Army has received the first of its new High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aircraft, based on the Bombardier Global 6500 bizjet. Set to supersede a varied fleet of turboprop intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, HADES will fly higher, faster, and farther, and for longer periods, while carrying a bigger sensor payload.

Army Gets Its First HADES Airborne Reconnaissance Jet

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Nov 25, 2024
Another long-serving U.S. military aircraft has completed its final operational deployment, with the return of the U.S. Navy’s EP-3E Aries II surveillance platform from the 5th Fleet area of operations. The countdown to the spy plane’s final retirement is now on, which will see its vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission handed over fully to the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance drone.

EP-3E Aries II Spy Plane Has Flown Its Last Operational Mission

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Nov 7, 2024
The security alert at Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany last week, which you can read more about here, was due to fears of a possible Russian drone attack, according to multiple German media reports. The latest development comes amid growing fears of Russian-inspired aggression against Germany, including drones, but also various other ‘hybrid warfare’ tactics. As the main operating base for NATO’s fleet of E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the base plays a critical role for the alliance — including around Ukraine.

Fears Of Russian-Inspired Drone Attack Led To German Air Base Alert: Reports

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Aug 26, 2024
The U.S. Army has chosen the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to lead the conversion of Bombardier Global 6500 business jets into new High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aircraft.

Army’s HADES Surveillance Bizjet Program Moves Forward With Sierra Nevada Corp. Deal

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 23, 2024
A brief video clip of a U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye linking up with an Air Force HC-130J tanker somewhere over in the Middle East calls attention to how this aircraft has become even more of a force multiplier with the added ability to refuel in flight.

E-2D Refueling From HC-130 Over Middle East Highlights The Hawkeye’s Potential

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Aug 7, 2024
The U.S. Air Force is planning to retire its remaining RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance drones by the end of the 2027 Fiscal Year. The service says it has become clear that the RQ-4s would be overly vulnerable in any future conflict against a peer or near-peer adversary, but it’s not clear what aircraft (or other assets) might fill the resulting capability gap. This only adds to the growing evidence that a top-secret, high-flying, stealth spy drone, commonly referred to as the RQ-180, or variants or derivatives thereof, is getting close to entering service, if it isn’t already being employed operationally on some level.

Air Force Chief Hints At Existence Of Clandestine Spy Aircraft

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Jul 26, 2024
U.S. Army Officer Confirms Russian A-50 Radar Jet Was Shot Down With Patriot Missile

U.S. Army Officer Confirms Russian A-50 Radar Jet Was Shot Down With Patriot Missile

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Jun 10, 2024
Congress is moving to block the Air Force from retiring or preparing to retire any U-2 spy planes in the next fiscal year.

U-2 Retirement Reprieve Emerges In Proposed Defense Spending Bill

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on Jun 4, 2024
U-2's new radar is going to the Army's HADES surveillance jet.

Radar Developed For U-2 To Go On Army Intel-Gathering BizJets

By Joseph Trevithick
Posted on May 22, 2024
U.S. Air Force TU-2s Dragon Lady 1078 flies to U.S. Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo normal Program Depot-level Maintenance (PDM) and be painted black, after almost three years of maintenance at Beale Air Force Base, California, Feb. 29, 2024. Aircraft 1078 was involved in an accident in 2021 that left it unable to move to Plant 42, and after passing low flight and high flight tests, was able to fly to Palmdale where Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Detachment 4 will oversee Lockheed Martin’s PDM of aircraft 1078. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alexis Pentzer

TU-2S Dragon Lady Resurrected For The Twilight Of The Spy Plane’s Service

By Oliver Parken
Posted on Mar 25, 2024
A-50 Mainstay

Russia Building More Dated A-50 Radar Planes Is Desperate But May Be Necessary

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Mar 1, 2024
The Beriev A-50U 'Mainstay' airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft belonging to Russian Air Force in the air. 'U' designation stands for extended range and advanced digital radio systems. This aircraft was named after Sergey Atayants - Beriev's chief designer.

Another One Of Russia’s Prized A-50 Radar Planes Shot Down, Ukraine Claims

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Feb 23, 2024
Ukraine claims its air defense shot down an A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control jet.

Claims Swirl Around Possible Shoot Down Of Russian A-50 Radar Jet (Updated)

By Howard Altman, Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Jan 15, 2024
Beale AFB executes an elephant walk as the U-2's service approaches its end.

U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Planes Execute A Bittersweet Elephant Walk

By Tyler Rogoway
Posted on Jan 7, 2024
Concept artwork of the NATO E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft in flight.

E-7 Wedgetail Radar Jet Chosen By NATO To Replace Aging E-3

By Thomas Newdick
Posted on Nov 15, 2023