• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

U-2 getting improved reconnaissance capability

07/22/02 - BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) -- To stay current with the latest reconnaissance technology, the U-2 fleet here is being upgraded from Block 0, or "legacy" aircraft, to the new Block 10 configuration.

The $1.4 billion project, which began in 1998 and will be completed in the next two years, improves the aircraft's data-collecting capability by upgrading the airframe, sensors and data links.

"With the new airplanes and new sensors, the weapons system is becoming much more capable," said Maj. Peter Lewis, chief of tactics for the 9th Operations Group. "Essentially, this is an upgrade to keep up with the times."

The Block 10 upgrade allows the U-2 to collect better imagery more quickly, Lewis said.

"With the increased imagery and a near-real-time product, the shooter will have the ability to make a decision to take (a target) out while it is still there, and then confirm that it is dead," he said.

People from various squadrons whose participation is vital to the upgrade work closely together to decide the best actions to take in the process.

"The difference between what we've done with the Block 10 upgrade and what we've done in the past is that we've refined the process," Lewis said. "We built a team across the functional areas, cutting through the extra time that it takes for the normal coordination of such projects."

Last August, pilots and maintainers began getting used to the significant differences the upgrades brought to the aircraft.

"What we tried to do as an integrated product team is integrate the new systems, which are very complicated, into day-to-day operations," Lewis said. "Our main goal was to make sure we could conduct sustained operations worldwide with the new system."

With America's continuing need for the U-2's abilities, the upgraded aircraft could not be put through the usual cycle of testing at a flight-test center.

"Unlike the normal weapons systems that take five years of operational testing and evaluation, we conducted all testing through our integration efforts at Beale," said Ron Burton, the systems integration manager for the 9th OG. "A normal acquisition takes five to seven years, and we've managed to do it in a matter of months."

With constantly changing technologies, reconnaissance experts must work fast to put new technologies to use, Lewis said. "If the testing process for new equipment takes too long, the tools become obsolete," he said. "Without the help of the all the people involved with the (integrated product team), the Block 10 upgrade would not have been as successful or have been accomplished in such a short amount of time." (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)