Dragon Lady in the UK - worldwide grounding causes major problems

The U2 single seat, single engine (F118-GE-101) spy plane, has undergone a major makeover and transformation and known now as the Dragon Lady after a US$1.5 Bn makeover which has boosted power, duration of flight and the range of surveillance equipment.

There is a sizeable, vocal and powerful bloc in the USAF that have little time for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles like Global Hawk and Predator are proving not to be as sucessful in Afghanistan and Iraq / Iran as claimed.

Regularly seen last summer at Fairford - see pic. They are back. The pilots operate in pressurised suits as they fly/glide at (very secret) heights (90.000 ft +) that normal aircaft pressurisation is inadequate.


This may be realted to an Aviation Week reported this week:

" The U.S. Air Force grounded its U-2 intelligence aircraft worldwide last week due to fuel leaks found in at least three of the high-flying aircraft.

The grounding disrupted intelligence collection operations around the globe, including surveillance activities in Iraq. The U-2 is being augmented by the Global Hawk there, though the comparatively young unmanned aerial vehicle is not able to collect the same imagery and signals intelligence as the U-2. "

The exact problem is unclear (Alert 5 reports "All of them have leaks in their sump tanks caused by a chafed wiring bundle next to the fuel tank.") but ...

"A message on the subject was sent from Air Combat Command at Langley AFB, Va., on March 13. Each aircraft is being inspected, and last week Air Combat Command expected the problem to occur in most of its 35 U-2s. A fix that requires at least three days is being implemented on the aircraft found to have problems. Some of the aircraft have been returned to service, and one Pentagon source says that at least one U-2 is now operational at every foreign operating location."

Another aircraft causing problesm ... The Osprey (Widow Maker) is due in Iraq reeel soooon now