Members of the California Congressional delegation are urging the Air Force to keep the U-2 fleet flying to prevent a gap in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability while the Global Hawk fleet is upgraded. In a June 17 letter to Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the group of senators and representatives said the demand for ISR is increasing, and the Air Force’s current plan to retire the U-2 in 2019 will leave combatant commanders without enough ISR aircraft. “We understand that the U-2 fleet has almost 80 percent of its airframe life remaining, making it sustainable well beyond FY2019,” the letter states. “Retirement of the U-2 in the coming years is expected to result in a reduction in high altitude ISR capacity, including the loss of the U-2’s unique intelligence gathering capabilities.” The U-2 fleet is largely flown out of Beale AFB, Calif. The Air Force and Northrop Grumman are supporting a “universal payload adapter” to use U-2 sensors on unmanned Global Hawks.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.