he U-2 remains in front-line service more than 50 years after its first flight with the current U-2 beginning service in 1980. In the mid-1990s, it was converted from the U-2R to the U-2S, receiving the
GE F118 turbofan engine.
[94] This is due primarily to its ability to direct flights to objectives at short notice, something that surveillance satellites cannot do. The U-2 outlasted its Mach 3
SR-71 replacement, which was retired in 1998. A classified budget document approved by
the Pentagon on 23 December 2005 called for the U-2's termination no earlier than 2012, with some aircraft being retired by 2007.
[95] In January 2006, Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld announced the U-2's pending retirement as a cost cutting measure during a larger reorganization and redefinition of the USAF's mission.
[96] Rumsfeld said that this will not impair the USAF's ability to gather intelligence, which will be done by satellites and a growing supply of unmanned
RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft.
In 2009, the USAF stated that it planned to extend the U-2 retirement from 2012 until 2014 or later to allow more time to field the RQ-4.
[97]Beginning in 2010, the
RQ-170 Sentinel began replacing U-2s operating from
Osan Air Base, South Korea.
[98] Upgrades late in the War in Afghanistan gave the U-2 greater reconnaissance and threat-detection capability.
[99] By early 2010, U-2s from the
99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron had flown over 200 missions in support of Operations
Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom, as well as
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa.
[100]
A U-2 was stationed in Cyprus in March 2011 to help in the enforcement of the
no-fly zone over Libya,
[101] and a U-2 stationed at
Osan Air Base in South Korea was used to provide imagery of the
Japanese nuclear reactor damaged by the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
[102]
In May 2014, a U-2 was accused of inadvertently causing an air traffic disruption in the Western US due to an apparent
ERAM software glitch.
[103][104] The USAF stated the U-2 did not cause the problem as it did not emit any electronic signals that could have scrambled the control center’s computers.
[105] The FAA later determined the cause to be a flight plan entry error that overwhelmed the air traffic system's memory capacity.
[106]
In March 2011, it was projected that the fleet of 32 U-2s would be operated until 2015.
[107] In 2014, Lockheed Martin determined that the U-2S fleet has used only one-fifth of its design service life and is one of the youngest fleets within the USAF.
[108] In 2011 the USAF intended to replace the U-2 with the RQ-4 before fiscal year 2015; proposed legislation required any replacement to have lower operating costs.
[109] In January 2012 the USAF reportedly planned to end the RQ-4 Block 30 program and extend the U-2's service life until 2023.
[110][111] The RQ-4 Block 30 was kept in service due to political pressure over USAF objections, who state that the U-2 costs $2,380 per flight hour compared to the RQ-4's $6,710 as of early 2014.
[112] Critics have pointed out that the RQ-4's cameras and sensors are less capable, and a lack of all-weather operating capability; however, some of the U-2's sensors may be installed on the RQ-4.
[113] The RQ-4 Block 30's capabilities were planned to match the U-2's by FY 2016, the replacement effort is motivated by decreases in the RQ-4's cost per flying hour.
[114]
The U-2's retirement was calculated to save $2.2 billion. $1.77 billion will have to be spent over 10 years to enhance the RQ-4, including $500 million on a universal payload adapter to attach U-2 sensors onto the RQ-4. USAF officials fear that retiring the U-2 amid RQ-4 upgrades will create a capability gap; other high-altitude ISR platforms would be used to substitute including satellites and the secretive
RQ-170 and
RQ-180 UAVs.
[115] In the
House Armed Services Committee's markup of the FY 2015 budget, language was included prohibiting the use of funds to retire or store the U-2; it also requested a report outlining the transition capabilities from the U-2 to the RQ-4 Block 30 in light of capability gap concerns.
[116]
In late 2014, Lockheed Martin proposed an unmanned U-2 version with greater payload capability,
[117] but the concept did not gain traction with the USAF.
[118] In early 2015, the USAF was directed to restart modest funding for the U-2 for operations and research, development, and procurement through to FY 2018.
[119] The former head of the USAF
Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Hostage helped extend the U-2S to ensure commanders receive sufficient
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage; stating "it will take eight years before the RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet can support 90% of the coverage of the U-2 fleet.
[120] Although the RQ-4 is planned to replace the U-2 by 2019, Lockheed claims it can remain viable until 2050.
[118]
