55 years of the U-2: keeping a constant watch

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Luke Johnson
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Editors note: this story is part four of four in a series that celebrates 55 years of the U-2 mission.

With a long list of mission objectives at 70,000 feet, the pilots who maneuver the U-2 Dragon Lady at the edge of space don't waste any time providing assistance to the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors or Marines in harm's way.

"The most rewarding part of the job is when I have the ability to help troops on the ground that are under a combat situation and engaged with the enemy," said Maj. Michael Gilmore with the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron.

One of the many roles of the U-2 is to provide a link between the servicemembers on the ground and the intelligence they need to effectively carry out their mission and shorten the kill chain.

"There are days when we are up there distributing intelligence to guys on the ground," Major Gilmore said. "We are closing the gap, from where you are and where the enemy is located. I have that piece of the puzzle that I can feed to the guy(s) on the ground, and as a result, they are able to kill the enemy, engage the enemy or are able to protect themselves."

While up in the air, most U-2 pilots only get to witness a fraction of the impact they make on the ground due to the various personnel involved in making a U-2 mission successful.

"There is a huge case of players (who) make the mission happen," Major Gilmore said. "We have people planning the mission out, analyzing some of the intelligence we are collecting and sending it out. There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that we don't get to see the direct result of."

Knowing a U-2 is aloft and checking in can make all the difference for those on the ground in extremely remote locations.

"There are times when the weather can be really bad in country and a lot of air assets might not be airborne, and since we take off so far away and so far above it, the vigilance is constant," said Maj. Eric Shontz with the 99th RS.

Even at 70,000 feet, deployed U-2 pilots are able to build a rapport with the troops on the ground.

"When you deploy, you fly a lot, and you know the guys on the ground by making radio calls to them," Major Gilmore said. "After you give them some good information that results in them killing the bad guys, saving themselves or completing the mission, they come back for more."

Being vigilant and meticulously scanning radio frequencies made a difference for troops outside the wire during a recent deployment for Major Shontz as he was patrolling the skies over Afghanistan.

"One of the guys I was talking to was in a valley, and he could not really use his radio effectively," Major Schontz said. "As I was talking to him, they got hit by machine gun and heavy artillery fire, and the situation got tense."

Major Shontz was above the mountains and had good reception. He used his radio and relayed the necessary information so the convoy could receive help and the air support they needed during the tense firefight.

"Within minutes, I was able to tell the guy that an A-10 was en route to his location and his troops in contact had already been broadcasted," Major Shontz said. "I was also able to talk to the incoming A-10 about the situation and where the guy was."

"If I did not check in with the guy and continued to fly, who knows what would have happened," he said. "Instead, I was able to talk with him, and he had direct air support within minutes."

An unfortunate outcome involving an improvised explosive device during his first mission over Afghanistan motivated Major Gilmore to pass on critical information immediately to those who need it.

"The whole time I am up there, I need to be looking for opportunities to pass some good information on to these guys and maybe saves some lives," Major Gilmore said.

Since U-2s on station are very critical for gathering and passing along intelligence, crews work diligently to figure out how they can stay on station longer to get the most out of the aircraft and its sensors.

"Our goal is to get in the air as soon as possible," Major Gilmore said. "We try to take off earlier than scheduled, find the fastest way to get in country, and when we arrive in country, we calculate the fuel to figure out how long we can stay on station to collect the most intelligence and get back to land within our crew duty day."

As the U-2 Dragon Lady and its crews continue to provide near real-time, high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to those on the ground who need it immediately, pilots and mission planners are constantly thinking about new ways to utilize the U-2 to be more effective in communicating critical information.

"The U-2 of today is nothing like the U-2 of 55 years ago, 20 years ago or 10 years ago," Major Gilmore said. "We are re-inventing ourselves every single day, every single deployment; it's really amazing."