In the early days of World War I, with the use of weather balloons, the desire to achieve superior aerial reconnaissance has driven military innovation. The United States has led this evolution by deploying one advanced spy plane after another series which has redefined ISR capabilities. A glance at some of the most iconic US military spy planes over the last 80 years follows.
The SR-71 “Blackbird,” developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division, is still considered one of the most mythical spy planes. Renowned for its unbelievable speed and great height, during its operational time, Blackbird completed more than 3,500 missions, flying almost 54,000 hours at above Mach 3-over 2,200 MPH. This makes it the only plane with the capability to evade capture; although 12 were lost during service, not one was shot down. This plane flew so high over 80,000 feet that the elite crew flying the SR-71 used high-pressurized flight suits, similar to what the astronauts wear, for protection.
Still, the Blackbird was notorious for its maintenance nightmares, particularly in leaking fluids on the ground. The USAF retired the craft due to the high operational cost in 1998, while NASA kept the craft until 1999. The SR-71 set more records: the 85,069 feet “absolute altitude record” and the “absolute speed record” of 1,905.81 knots (about Mach 3.3).
Another wonder from the house of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the U-2 “Dragon Lady” has been a mainstay of US ISR operations since 1957. Only 104 aircraft were ever built, but this jet has been an invaluable asset to the USAF, CIA, and NASA. Its solitary pilot, clad in a pressurized flight suit, can function comfortably at altitudes of 90,000 feet-plus at 500 mph plus.
The U-2 most famously gained worldwide attention in May 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was downed by a Soviet missile during a surveillance mission. However, besides that little hiccup, the U-2 has remained in service and is scheduled to do so until 2023, totaling more than 65 years of operational service.
The MQ-1B Predator and its more lethal cousin, the MQ-9 Reaper, represent a new generation of ISR with strike capabilities. The Predator was built by General Atomics and is remotely piloted by a two-person crew, a pilot, and a sensor operator. Lacking the speed and range of other spy planes, its precision strike capability with real-time intelligence has turned it into a workhorse in key theaters such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft shares many operational similarities with the U-2. Operated by the USAF, Navy, NASA, and NATO, Global Hawks are used in high-altitude, long-range ISR missions. With more than 14,000 miles of range and over 32 hours of loiter time, it provides truly critical intelligence and surveillance from above. Three ground-based crew members remotely operate the aircraft: a launch/recover pilot, a mission control pilot, and a sensor operator.
The Northrup RF-61, previously dubbed the F-15 “Reporter,” saw action with both the US Army Air Corps and then the USAF during World War II and the Korean War. A twin-engine, dual-tail aircraft, it may have only seen 36 examples built, but it was those that took the all-important aerial photographs, especially of the Korean Peninsula. With a very small number of production units, the RF-61 was a very significant aircraft until it retired in 1968.
From the high-flying SR-71 Blackbird to the versatile MQ-1B Predator, these planes significantly heightened ISR capabilities in service with the US Military. As technology advances so does the need for sophisticated battlefield intelligence, a requirement that will keep these legendary aircraft a testament to innovation and strategic acumen.