Aircraft · Air
U-2
High-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft family.
by Lockheed Martin · Unveiled May 7, 1956
FieldedAircraftAirFirst flight1967
af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104560/u-2stu-2s- Milestones3
- Operators1
- Components1
- Programs—
- Capabilities—
- Inputs—
Photo: Photo by Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford and Largs, United Kingdom via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop.
Milestones19551967
Timeline3
- First flightConfirmed
Original U-2A first flight
- UnveiledConfirmed
U-2 publicly announced under NACA cover story
NACA announced the named aircraft under a weather-research cover story. NASA history p. 167 and timeline p. 238 establish the date; this was not disclosure of its reconnaissance mission.
- First flightConfirmed
U-2R variant first flight
The latest 10 milestones. Solid entries are confirmed, outlined reported, dashed estimated or still to come; dotted italic entries are speculative. Dates show only the precision the sources give.
Operators1
- USUnited States
Cost to the Government
Aircraft · Lockheed Martin
U-2S / TU-2S Dragon Lady
The official unit price is classified; public modernization and hourly reimbursement figures remain separate.
Comparable unit price
Not verified
The Air Force fact sheet identifies unit cost as classified. Modernization spending is not a substitute for an aircraft purchase price.
U.S. Air Force ↗U.S. inventory
Not verified
A current U.S. inventory was not established. Annual procurement, cumulative deliveries and production capacity are not a stockpile count.
U.S. procurement quantity
Not verified
No comparable U.S. procurement quantity was established in this review.
R&D program total
Not verified
A lifetime program R&D total was not established. Development contracts and shared program budgets are not substituted for that total.
Cost & funding breakdown
Historical airframe and sensor modernization
$1.7B
Since 1994 · September 2015 fact sheet · Nominal USD; source budget basis
Cumulative modernization reported at the source date; not lifetime acquisition or R&D alone.
U.S. Air Force ↗Do not turn a mixed inventory into a current military fleet count
The 2015 fact sheet combines trainers and NASA ER-2 aircraft in its count. This page leaves current U.S. military inventory unverified rather than carrying that mixed historical figure forward.
Modernization is not development alone
The published $1.7B covers airframe and sensor improvements over time. The source does not split research, procurement and installation into comparable lifetime totals.
Operations & sustainment
Reimbursement / flight hour
$23,162 / hr
FY2026 · Nominal USD; Other DoD Component
Other DoD Component rate. Billing reference, not fully burdened operating cost or proof of operational status.
DoD Comptroller ↗Cost over time · 2 observations
Each row retains its original scope and dollar basis. Changing quantities, service life and inflation can change the estimate without changing the price of building one unit.
| Observation | Measure | Amount | Dollar basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | Reimbursement / flight hour Other DoD Component rate. Billing reference, not fully burdened operating cost or proof of operational status. | $23,162 / hr | Nominal USD; Other DoD Component | DoD Comptroller ↗ |
| April 2020 | Avionics upgrade contract Development/integration scope, not an aircraft unit price. | $50M | Nominal USD; source budget basis | Lockheed Martin ↗ |
Contracts & purchasing · 1 records
Award values, ceilings and purchase agreements have different meanings. These records are not added together as total spending.
2020-04-09 · Avionics technology refresh award announced
U.S. Air Force → Lockheed Martin
$50M · quantity not established
Updates avionics and mission computing; not new aircraft procurement or lifetime R&D.
Lockheed Martin ↗
International buyers
United States · Quantity not verified · U.S. program customer · Dated source snapshot
Purchases and program plans are not a current operational inventory.
U.S. Air Force ↗
Coverage & open research
- Buyer records are selected examples, not a complete global order book.
- Current U.S. operational inventory was not established; dated purchases, deliveries and plans remain separate.
- A comparable complete-system unit purchase price was not established.
- A system-specific lifetime R&D total was not established.
Unit costs and contract unit prices for this system, and budget figures for the programs that buy it. Each figure states its dollar basis and links its source; contract values are under Programs & awards.