How Many U-2 Spy Planes Were Built?

The Lockheed U-2 ‘Dragon Lady’ spy plane is famously one of the oldest aircraft types in service with the United States Air Force. The aircraft is a relic of the Cold War and first entered service in the 1950s, before playing a critical role in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Today, the type remains in service, although it is constantly flirting with retirement. Congress has blocked retirements, but the aircraft is expected to start retiring within a year.

The airframes in service are ones built in the 1980s, meaning these airframes are old, but not exceptionally old (like the B-52). 104 U-2s were built, and, of these, at least seven were downed by enemy action, and around a third of the total built remain in service (all later production models). A large percentage, 36% or at least 37 aircraft, are known to have crashed due to mishaps. Many of the aircraft that lived to retirement are now on display both in the US and in Europe.

The Cold War’s Most Successful Spy Plane

The Lockheed U-2 was a black box program developed in secret and one that was kept shrouded in secrecy for over 35 years. It was built by Lockheed’s Skunk Works under the direction of Clarence L ‘Kelly’ Johnson and has become regarded as one of the most successful intelligence-gathering aircraft ever developed. While the supersonic SR-71 Blackbird, which could fly at Mach 3+, was an engineering marvel, the supersonic U-2 was more successful.

Being successful is not a test of engineering brilliance or speed. Rather, it is what actually works in the real world with the money and resources available. The Lockheed U-2 first entered service in 1956, meaning it has served for 70 years. The SR-71 entered service in 1966 and was semi-retired in 1989 before being permanently retired in 1998. That means the Blackbird only remained in service for 23 to 32 years.

According to the National Air and Space Museum, the U-2 was the result of “an unsolicited proposal that was accepted by the CIA with President Dwight Eisenhower’s approval.” That was a different time, and the CIA was one of the main operators of the spy aircraft; Taiwanese pilots also flew them over China on behalf of the CIA.

Over 100 Lockheed U-2s Were Built

A total of 104 Lockheed U-2s were built. Almost half (49) of these were in the initial production U-2As that were powered by the Pratt & Whitney J57-P-37A turbojet. Six two-seat U-2D were built and used for IR detection programs and were not used as trainers. Another 12 U-2Rs were built featuring redesigned airframes with increased fuel capacity. A single U-2R(T) two-seat R-model trainer was built.

A total of 33 TR-1As were built in the 1980s, and these remain in use today. These were the third production batch of the U-2R and came with modern avionics, improved electronic countermeasures, and the ASARS-2 side-looking radar. Finally, for the US Air Force, a pair of two-seat TR-1A (later designated Tu-2S) conversion trainers were built.

NASA operates two Lockheed ER-2 High-Altitude Airborne Science Aircraft. The one with serial No. 80-1063 was a new build, while the second (Serial No. 80-1097) was converted from a TR-1A. These NASA aircraft function as flying laboratories that “collect information about the Earth’s resources, celestial observations, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes​​​​​​.” They “are also used for electronic sensor research and development, satellite calibration, and satellite data validation.”

How Many U-2s Remain Today?

The US Air Force’s webpage on the U-2 Dragon Lady has not been updated for ten years and says the service has a total of 33 remaining in service. This includes five two-seat trainers and two ER-2s operated by NASA, with none in reserve or with the Air National Guard. Lockheed’s website lists 31 in inventory, of which 27 are one-seat aircraft, and four are two-seat trainers. At the start of Fiscal Year 2024, the Air Force still had 31 U-2s in inventory, including three two-seat TU-2S trainers.

With the current plans, the Lockheed U-2 will start to be retired in October 2026. However, the Fiscal Year 2026 budget has not yet passed, and it is unclear if this will go ahead. In mid-2025, one NDAA draft bill said that “none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to divest or prepare to divest more than eight U-2 aircraft.” If this becomes part of the final bill, then the U-2 may have a phased retirement.

If the Air Force withdraws eight per year, then the last may retire in Fiscal 2030, although that remains to be seen. The Air Force is known to have various stealthy flying wing drones as spy planes filling some of the Dragon Lady’s former role, including the secretive RQ-170 and the very secretive RQ-180. Lockheed is also known to be working on developing a hypersonic successor to the SR-71 called the SR-72.

Where To See Lockheed U-2s Today

No retired Lockheed U-2s are listed as stored at the famous Davis-Monthan “boneyard”. Some retired airframes have been cannibalized for parts to keep the remaining fleet flying. Many retired airframes are on display at museums around the world, although mostly in the United States. Notably, there are U-2s on display at museums in the United Kingdom and Norway.

US museums that have a Lockheed U-2 on display include the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. They type can also be found at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, the Hill Aerospace Museum in Utah, the Museum of Aviation in Georgia, and the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. More Lockheed U-2s are displayed at USAF air force bases like Beale, Laughlin, and Moffett.

There are also wrecks of U-2s on display in Russia and China. These inauspicious displays do not commemorate the engineering of the US, but the ability of those countries to down them on the aircraft that flew over the Soviet Union and China. According to reporting by CNN in 2023, China downed five Dragon Ladies before flights were stopped following the US recognition of the communist government in Beijing.

The Lockheed U-2’s Current Role

The Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady continues flying today. Lockheed Martin says that “The U-2S Dragon Lady is an agile and reliable high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft that flies 24/7/365 to ensure global security with unparalleled performance.” The aircraft was first downed by Soviet air defense in 1960 and then again in 1962. The aircraft’s 60,000-foot altitude is not a defense against a modern air defense network.

Dragon Ladies would be useless in a future conflict against an adversary with any respectable air defense. Even the Yemeni Houthis have managed to down numerous US Air Force MQ-9 Predator drones. However, the aircraft is kept in service, not because it is useful in conflict, but because it is useful in peacetime and low-threat environments. The long loiter times give it an advantage that fast spy planes and satellites just can’t match.

The aircraft is useful for missions in low-threat environments in the Middle East or the Sahara region, where militants or smuggling networks may be active. Even so, Lockheed asserts they are survivable, saying they feature an “enhanced defensive suite coupled with long-range standoff sensors and on-board processing.” It adds that this enables the aircraft to “operate in and around contested areas while rapidly enabling 4th and 5th generation platforms to share data across domains.”

A 70-Year-Old Aircraft Still Setting Records

According to Lockheed Martin, the Air Force’s fleet of U-2s still has 75% of its service life remaining, and they have sustained a 97% mission success rate for over ten years. The contractor says they have a high altitude reconnaissance of 70,000 feet, which is more than the over 60,000-foot figure cited by the National Air and Space Museum.

Even though the 70-year-old aircraft’s service may be entering its twilight years, it is continuing to set records. To celebrate 70 years since the U-2’s first flight, on July 31, 2025, USAF Pilot Cory Grant Bartholomew and Chief Pilot ‘Jethro’ flew a U-2 from Beale Air Force Base to set a new record, taking 14 hours and spanning some 6,000 miles. Beale Air Force is the home of the Lockheed U-2 spy plane.

It’s unclear exactly what the record was, but it is known that the aircraft can fly over 70,000 feet, and the U-2 is the only known crewed aircraft currently in service that is able to fly at those altitudes. These are so high that the pilots have to wear what is essentially a spacesuit. Regarding the new world record, The War Zone quoted the Air Force as saying that it was an “endurance record for category and class for aircraft.”