The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is an American single-engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated from the 1950s by the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude, all-weather intelligence gathering.
Lockheed U-2
Original U-2A at USAF Museum
Model "B" U-2 camera on display at the National Air and Space Museum
U-2 at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford
A reconnaissance aircraft is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence, signals intelligence, as well as measurement and signature intelligence. Modern technology has also enabled some aircraft and UAVs to carry out real-time surveillance in addition to general intelligence gathering.
A USAF SR-71 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft
USAF's RC-135U Combat Sent reconnaissance (ELINT) aircraft
ScanEagle reconnaissance UAV on its catapult launcher