Lockheed U-2

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, very high-altitude (70,000 feet / 21,000 m), all-weather intelligence gathering. The aircraft is also used for electronic sensor research and development, satellite calibration, and satellite data validation.

The U-2 has prominently featured in several events during the Cold War, at stages of which U-2s commonly overflew the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, North Vietnam, and Cuba. On 1 May 1960, CIA pilot Gary Powers was shot down while flying a U-2 over Soviet territory. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, on 27 October 1962, a U-2 piloted by Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr was shot down over Cuba by two SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missiles.