---
title: "The Air Force plans on retiring the vaunted U-2 spy plane starting in 2025"
date: "2020-02-11"
modified: "2020-02-11"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/u2-dragon-lady-retirement-af-budget/"
categories:
  - "Air Force"
  - "Aircraft"
  - "Around the World"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
  - "United States"
---

# The Air Force plans on retiring the vaunted U-2 spy plane starting in 2025

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/22674521-1.png>)

After nearly 70 years of service, the U.S. Air Force plans to begin divesting its fleet of U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes starting in fiscal year 2025, [budget documents show](<https://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/Portals/84/documents/FY21/PROCUREMENT_/FY21%2520Air%2520Force%2520Aircraft%2520Procurement%2520Vol%2520II%2520Mods_1.pdf?ver=2020-02-10-145316-147>).

According to the service's fiscal year 2021 budget request of $120.2 million for U-2 procurement, the service "will maintain operational capability up to and through FY25" for the high-altitude plane before divesting in the aircraft beginning that year.

"These investments will address reliability, maintainability, supportability, diminishing manufacturing sources/material shortages (DMS/MS), flight test, safety issues, and integration of capability development activities in support of the broader portfolio," the budget request [says](<https://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/Portals/84/documents/FY21/PROCUREMENT_/FY21%2520Air%2520Force%2520Aircraft%2520Procurement%2520Vol%2520II%2520Mods_1.pdf?ver=2020-02-10-145316-147>). "This continued investment in the platform ends in FY25, where the U-2 will be divested."

Air Force Magazine [notes](<https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-plans-to-retire-the-u-2-in-2025/>) that, taken along with the Air Force's push to retire older versions of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, the sudden retirement of the U-2 represents a "potentially sweeping drawdown" of the service's high-altitude ISR aircraft and related capabilities.

[First adopted](<https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104560/u-2stu-2s/>) by the Air Force in 1956, the U-2 quickly gained a reputation as the world's most sophisticated spy plane, where pilots don special, astronaut-stye suits to operate at altitudes of up to 70,000 feet for flights of between 8 to 12 hours at a time.

Until that divestiture begins, the Air Force plans to keep the U-2 flying high: As the budget documents note, the service will continue to upgrade the aircraft's critical subsystems to enable "improved collection against emerging threats and capabilities."

"RDT&E efforts will address sustainment, modification, and modernization of sensors and associated mission equipment, and focus on integrating/expanding platform capabilities within the larger ISR portfolio," the budget documents state. "These efforts include (but are not limited to) ASARS 2B/C, avionics and navigation tech refresh, mission planning software and infrastructure upgrades, modernization of aircraft data links, next generation SIGINT, and developing a quick reaction capability."

The Air Force currently expects to maintain a fleet of 31 U-2 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, according to budget documents, including four trainer aircraft.

## Author
Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbkeller/>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jaredbkelller/>)