Lockheed Martin is at the forefront of upgrading the U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes. For this, the manufacturer awarded a contract worth $ 50 million from the US Air Force.
The design of this update includes; a new avionics suite, a new mission computer and modern cockpit displays, Lockheed says.
“As a proven, agile and reliable aircraft, the U-2S is the most capable high-altitude ISR system in the fleet today,” says Lockheed Martin U-2 program director Irene Helley. “The Avionics technology upgrade contract will continue our commitment to providing a top-notch aircraft to our combatants, ensuring global security now and in the future”, concludes the director.
The aircraft will be designed to the new USAF Open Mission Systems (WHO) standard, the new mission computer will allow the aircraft to integrate "with systems in the air, space, maritime, land and cyber domains at disparate levels of security" .
Modification work is expected to start in mid-2021, with fleet modification expected in early 2022.
The USAF's current U-2 fleet is 30 aircraft, while NASA operates two models. Both aircraft have an average fleet age of 36,6 years.
