According to a publication by Fighter Jets World website, a US Air Force general, said pilots of U-2 reconnaissance planes use China's satellite navigation system as a backup for their GPS.
The purpose of this backup is to serve as a , in case the main GPS system, which is North American, has a problem.
The U-2 flies at high altitudes, and as it is a spy plane, the technology on board is constantly updated, that is, today's technology is not the same as when the U-2 entered service in the 80s.
“My guys on the U-2 fly now with a watch that connects to GPS, but also to BeiDou and the Russian system [GLONASS] and the European system [Galileo], so that if someone blocks the GPS, it still picks up the others”, General James “Mike” Holmes, head of Combat Air Command.
“Designed with pilots from different backgrounds and missions, the D2 Charlie watch for aviators features a colorful and dynamic moving map that shows airports, navaids, roads, bodies of water, cities and more, offering greater situational awareness”, said the watchmaker in a statement. at the time. “When the D2 Charlie is paired with Garmin Connect on a connected mobile device, pilots can view weather radar at the top of the map screen in relation to flight plan information.”
