9th Recon Wing U-2 Dragon Lady Jet Black Lithograph

9th Recon Wing U-2 Dragon Lady Jet Black Lithograph art.

The U-2, nicknamed “Dragon Lady“, is an American single-jet engine, ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet; 21,336 m), all-weather intelligence gathering. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, and communications purposes.

The 9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twenty-Fifth Air Force. It is stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California. The wing is also the host unit at Beale. Its mission is to organize, train and equip the Air Force’s fleet of U-2R Dragon Lady, RQ-4 Global Hawk, and MC-12 Liberty aircraft for peacetime intelligence gathering, contingency operations, conventional war fighting and Emergency War Order support. It is also assigned T-38 Talons for U-2 pilots to maintain flight hours due to limited U-2 aircraft.