Overview

For more than six decades, the U-2 Dragon Lady has flown higher, lasted longer, and adapted more boldly than any reconnaissance aircraft in history. Conceived in secrecy during the darkest days of the Cold War, the U-2 helped illuminate the hidden intentions of superpowers, map missile sites that shaped world events, and prevent miscalculation at moments when global stability hung in the balance. From the Soviet Union to the Cuban Missile Crisis, from Vietnam and the Middle East to the Global War on Terror, the Dragon Lady has remained a vital tool of strategic intelligence. This definitive, fact-based narrative traces the U-2's complete evolution-from its radical origins at the Lockheed Skunk Works to its reinvention as a modern, sensor-rich intelligence platform capable of linking satellites, drones, and ground forces. Through crises, technological revolutions, and repeated attempts at retirement, the U-2 endured by proving uniquely irreplaceable. Its pilots risked the edge of the atmosphere; its engineers pushed the limits of aerodynamics; its missions quietly shaped decisions in war rooms and diplomatic chambers around the world. Based on verifiable history and rich operational detail, U-2 Dragon Lady: The Spyplane That Wouldn't Retire reveals how an aircraft meant to serve briefly became one of the most enduring machines ever built. This is the story of the jet that refused to fade-a story of innovation, risk, and an unbroken legacy of service above 70,000 feet.

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9781970852028

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