Last updated on: 10 December 2006

• Col. Frederic E. McCoy....passed away July 24, 2006 at the age of 91 in Austin, Texas of cancer. Col. McCoy was the first U-2 squadron commander back in the early CIA days. -Mike McCoy
  
  
• U-2 Achieves 20,000 Flight Hours....U-2 68-0337 flown by Lt. Col. Kevin M. Henry(Commander of the 363rd ERS) flying a combat mission out of Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia was flying 337, when the aircraft surpassed the 20,000 hour mark. This makes three U-2 aircraft with over 20,000 hours. -High Flyer 6 Oct. 2000
  
  
• New U-2 Cockpit Simulator Opened.....A ribbon cutton was held on 8 June 1999, to open the new U-2 Cockpit Procedural Trainer, which has been installed at Beale. On hand were 9 RW & Det 11 personnel and the folks that built the new cockpit trainer, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works -High Flyer 18 June 1999 & 25 June 1999
  
  
• 9 RW Command Transferred.......B/Gen. Charles Simpson relinquishes command of the 9 RW to Brig. Gen Kevin Chilton at the Beale AFB flight line on Wednesday 2 June 1999. B/Gen. Chilton is a Air Force Academy graduate, with 5,000 hours of flight time in RF-4C and F-15, and has 3 Space Shuttle missions. B/Gen. Chilton's previous coomand was Deputy Director of Operations at the Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, CO, B/Gen. Simpson leaves to command of Air Force units based at Prince Sultan AB, Saudia Arabia. B/Gen. Simpsons spearheaded many changes and upgrades to Beale AFB, and the U-2 during his tenure are: a new glass cockpit design for the U-2 and a Collier Trophy, a modernization program at Beale totaling $45 million. Grig. Gen. Simpson took cammand of the 9 RW on 18 April 1997. Good Luck to Brig. Gen. Simpson in his new command. -High Flyer 28 May 1999
  
  
• U-2 is Awarded the Collier Trophy.....The stars turned out for the awarding of the Collier Trophy, NASA Adminstator Daniel Goldin; Vice Chairman the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Ralston; ACC Commander Gen. Dick Hawley; Lcokheed Martin CEO Vance Coffman; GE Aircraft Engine President Jame McNerney; and Lockheed Martin Skunk works President Jack Gordon; along with Gen. Charles Simpson, and NAA President Donald Koranda. The U-2 was awarded the Collier Trophy on 28 April 1999 in a ceremony at Arlington, VA, the award recognizes top aeronatical acheivement in the US for the previous year. The 44 year old U-2 is the oldest aircraft to win the most prestigious aviation award in the US. -High Flyer 7 May 1999
  
  
• 9th Reconnaissance Wing Turns 50....Saturday, 1 May 1999, the 9th RW will turn 50, it all started on 1 May 1949, when the 9th SRW was activated at Fairfield-Suisan AFB, CA(later to become Travis AFB)..............-High Flyer 30 April 1999
  
  
• 9 RW Earns ACC Flight Safety Award.....After flying for the 1998 year without any command controlled flght mishaps, it was announced by Lt. Gen. Lansford Trapp, Jr. 12th Air Force Commander. A command control flight mishap is genreally defined as a mishap which occurs during an ACC directed mission, either training or operational mission. -High Flyer 23 April 1999
  
  
• U-2s Participate in Numerous Service Exercises.....The U-2 is tasked to many real world trouble spots, but they also fly many missions involving training with other services and agenci es. In the past the U-2 and the 9th RW has flown in Desert Scimitar with the Marines, a joint air and ground attack exercise, and Desert Lighting an Army ground attack exercise. The 9th RW was supposed to fly in support of the Joint Suppresion of Ememy Air Defense demostration(JSEAD) in April 1999, which was part of Green flag, but it was canceled due to the number of units deployed to Kosovo. In June the 9th RW was scheduled to fly in support of the Air Force's Weapons school mission emplyment phase, which is a graduation exercise for the semiannual course at Nellis AFB, NV. This exercise will also involve members of the DSG-1, they will be able to practice there skills, by responding to combat tasking, while U-2 pilots will be able to practice flying in a combat scenario. Also in June U-2s are expected to fly in "Roving Sands 99", this year the 8th AF teams up with the III Corps of the Army to defend Ft. Bliss from air attacks and Scud missile launches. The 525th Military Intel Brigade will deploy the the Army Enhanced Tactical Radar Correlator to be the ground station for the U-2, missions are expected to be flown from 19 June through 23 June. -High Flyer 23 April 1999
  
  
• Brig. Gen. Simpson flies U-2 for last time.....B/Gen Simpson has been transferred to Prince Sutan Air Base, Saudia Arabia, to command the 363rd Expeditionary Wing. He flew his last mission on Wednsday, 14 April 1999 -High Flyer 16 April 1999
  
  
• U-2 lands safely after IFE......Lt. Col. Paul Nelson, declared an inflight emergency, for a hydraulic malfunction, and an unsafe gear gear indicator, while flying a (Tuesday). Lt. col. Paul Nelson was unijured and the aircraft landed safely and sustained minimal damage due to the outstanding job of flying by Lt.Col Nelson. -High Flyer 2 April 1999
  
  
• 363rd Recon Squadron.... flies 500th OLIVE BRANCH Mission.... U-2s flown by members of the 363rd RS(formerly the 4402 RS) flew the 500th mission in support of United Nations resolution 687 & 688, over Iraq. -High Flyer 5 March 1999
  
  
• U-2S Wins Collier Trophy... The U-2S built by Lockheed Martin Company and flown by the USAF, And NASA have been awarded the Collier Trophy, recognizing aeronautical acheivement in the US for 1998, by the National Aviation Association. This is the fourth Lockheed aircraft to win the Collier Trophy, previous aircraft where F-104(1958), A-12(1963)(even thought they show a picture of a YF-12A, and call it an A-11), and the F-117(1989). This was the 10th Collier awarded to Lockheed or one of it's subsidiaries. -Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star(Feb. 1999), & High Flyer.
  
  
• U-2s Set World Records...A busy few weeks in the world of U-2s, besides continuing overflights of Iraq and Kosovo, and other hot spots, U-2s have been setting world aviation records. First on 17 Nov. 1998, a U-2S flown from Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, CA, lifted 3,000 lbs. to a record altitude of 15,000 meters(49,212.60 ft.). After setting this record the U-2S continued on 65,000 ft.(19,812 meters). There by setting 2 world records, greatest weight lifted to 15,000 meters, in Class 1 and subclass 1H.The U-2S was flown by Lockheed Test Pilot Bryan Galbreath. Then on 18 Nov. an ER-2S #806 flown from Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, CA by NASA pilot Jim Barrilleaux flew to another record by setting an absolute altitude record for it's weight class of aircraft by flying to 69,000 ft.. These records are for the medium weight class of 26,455 - 35,274 lbs. If this wasn't enough the 1st Recon Sq. of the 9th Recon Wing got into the act when Maj. Al Zwick flew a U-2S #081 with 4,400 lb. to an altitude of 66,800 ft.(20,360.64 meters) on 13 Dec. 1998. (All records at this time are pending) -High Flyer 11 Dec. 1998 & 18 Dec. 1998, & Air Force News Service, & NASA News Service.
  
  
• To Fly a U-2....Capt. Todd Kalish became a USAF officer on 2 December 1998, after resigning his commision in the USMC. Capt. Kalish flew the F-18 Hornet for the Marines, but decided that he would like to fly the U-2, the problem is the Mrines do not have the U-2 in it's inventory of aircraft. So Capt. Kalish inquired about switching his commision to the Air Force, which he eventually did, and now is training to fly the U-2 at Beale AFB, CA. -High Flyer 11 Dec. 1998
  
  
• The U-2 will get improved Targeting Ability.....New upgrades to the U-2 will allow it to deliver targeting coordinates to battlefiled commanders quicker. With the improvements in intelligence gathering lately the bottleneck becomes the delivery of the intelligence to the endusers. With the upgrade to Mutli-Sensor Agile Reconnaissance System(MARS), the time needed to download targeting information from the U-2s many sensors will be cut to a few minutes. A new sensor will also be added to the already array of sensors that the U-2 can carry, the new sensor a electro-optical hyperspectral sensor(EHS) will be able to look at 300 seperate light frequencies to detect hard to find and high priority threats such as concealed targets and nerve agents and materials used in the making of mass destruction. The Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System(SYERS) system which has been upgraded recently will more then likely be teamed with the hyperspectorial sensor, as it does not have the resolution of the SYERS. With the MARS installed when a sensor spots a siginificant target it can cue another sensor to also check the target. Also if the sensor detect several scud launchers, it will send this info back to the ground controllers and then the target info can be acted upon quickly. While the mass of info can be stored for later explotation. With less info to wade through to find targets the ground controllers can react quicker to targets. MARS development starts this year and is expected to be deployed in 2004-05. USAF planners want MARS to be modular enough that it can be used on Global Hawk and other similiar platforms -AWST 23 Nov 1998
  
  
• U-2 Periodic Maintenance to benifit from Lean....The U-2s wing will be the first part of the U-2 to benifit from Lean thinking. Lean Thinking Concepts is used to streamline and move items faster through (in this case) the Periodic Depot Maintenance. Studies have started to see what steps are taken when the wing of the U-2 undergoes periodic maintenance. -LMSW Star 25 Nov 1998
  
  
• U-2s Overflying Kosovo....U-2s are being tasked to overfly Kosovo, along with their duties over Bosnia. The Kosovo flights are originating out of Avaino AB, Italy, while the Bosnian flights are flown from Istreas, France. -Aviation Week and Space Technology 5 Oct 1998
  
  
• "Poor Man's U-2"......Scaled Composites rolled out it's twin engined, two place "Poor Man's U-2" aircraft, the Proteus. It has been flown to 36,000 ft so far, but has been designed to loiter at 51,000-65,000 ft. for up to 18 hours. The plan so far is to carry a communications systems and antenna and act as a local satellite serving major metro areas. With the assistance of Angel Technologies of St. Louis, who have been testing the antenna, along with Raytheon Sensors, and Electronic Systems of Plano, TX who have been testing the communications payload. Which is capable of relaying 10 megabits/second during peak usage, and has a footprint of 50-75 miles, and with three aircraft, they can provide 24/7 availability. The Proteus is primarily made of graphite epoxy composite, thought the left wing is made of fibergalss to avoid blocking radio waves from and underslung antenna in a left hand orbit. Specs are: empty weight of 5,800 lbs., fuel weight of 6,000 lbs., maximum take-off weight of12,500 lbs., while an experimental/military version can carry 14,500 lbs., it has a wingspan of 77.6 ft., though there is a plan to extend the wings by 14.2 ft. and add canard tip extensions of 10 ft. to help the higher initial ceiling. The two engines are by Williams-Rolls and are FJ44-2A turbofans with a 2.0 bypass ratio. -AWST 5 Oct. 1998
  
  
• U-2 begin movement back to Istreas.....U-2s have begun to move back to French Base Aerienne 125 at Istreas, France after a two month stay at Aviano AB, Italy, while runway work at Istreas was being completed. The 5,000 meter runway was completly resurfaced and extended 71 meters, also new lights were installed and several taxi ways and parking areas where enlarged. A new ILS and tower should be completed in early 1999. High Flyer 18 Sept. 1998
  
  
• The CIA has Declassified Their History of CIA U-2 Operations....At the National Defense University on 17 Sept. 1998. They also declassified 1.5 million images -John Stone, Aviation Week and Space Technology(28 Spet. 1998), High Flyer 25 Sept. 1998...If you'd like to see the history online got to: http://www.odci.gov/csi/books/U2/index.htm
  
  
• U-2S #80-099 Has a New Feature.....It has been designated by the Squadron Commanders Aircraft, and now sports a new tail flash, similiar to other U-2 aircraft, but with "99RS" and a shadowing effect on the tail. This aircraft was also flown to Washington DC for the CIA and DARO Conference on the Early U-2 History. It did a fly-by while the memorial service for the personnal killed while working on U-2 projects was being held. High Flyer 11 Sept 1998
  
  
• NASA ER-2s Reassigned to Dryden Flight Research Center.....ER-2s from Moffet Field have been reassinged to Dryden to consolidate NASA flight operations. -LMSW Star 27 March 1998
  
  
• U-2 Surveillance Shortfall....With the U-2 being increasingly being tasked world wide, a shortage of Pilots and Maintenance folks, and aircraft in Korea are not able to fly enough missions to continously monitor North Korea. -AWST 8 March 1998
  
  
• Sanders Fiber Optic Towed Decoy(FOTD) will be available soon......Flight testing is continuing on the FOTD at LM Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, CA, where it recently proved it could fly at altitudes up to 68,000 ft. The FOTD is part of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) Radio Frequency Countermeasures (RFCM). It is similiar to the FOTD used with the F-18 program -AWST 8 March 1998
  
  
• Last U-2R Heads for Reengining and Redesignation.....The last U-2R (80-1068) left for the Lockheed Skunk Works facility at Palmdale, CA, flown by Lt. Col. John Peterson. Where it will be upgraded to "S" specifications. "S" model features an lighter, improved engine, which shares 88% of the parts with F-16, F-117, and the B-1 engines, will make it cheaper to get replacement parts and improve reliability and maintainability. The new engine is 1300 lbs. lighter then the previous version and features a better engine management computer, which will make the pilot's workload lighter. U-2S upgrades began in 1994, the U-2R flew it's last operational sortie from France last year, after flying more then 30,000 operational missions and 345,000 hours. -High Flyer, and Air Force News Service (3/4/98), LMSW Star (30 April 1998)
  
  
• Tony LeVier passes away at 84.....Famed Lockheed test pilot Tony LeVier passed away Saturday 8 Febuary 1998. Tony was the first person to fly the U-2 and many other Lockheed aircraft, he is a giant figure in aviation history. From flying in air races around the country, to test flying aircraft for Lockheed, he lead a life only a few avaiton fans could hope to live. He will be sorely missed by all aviation fans, our condolences to his family in this time of sadness. -Chris Pocok (11 Feb. 1998)
  
  
• U-2 Provides Unique Challenges and Rewards. Air Force News Service #980114, 28 January 1998
  
  
• U-2S #80-099 returned to Plant 42....Via C-141 #70016 from Osan AB, Korea to undergo major structural repairs at Site 2 on 1 Nov 1997. The C-141 left Osan at 8:40 am on 1 Nov 1997 and arrived at Plant 42 on the same day. Repairs on to start in Jan 1998 and the plane wil be finished in Aug 1998. LMSW Star (17 Dec 1997)
  
  
• 4402nd RS(P) Relocate....Early in October the U-2s and personnel of the 4402nd RS(P) were relocated to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudia Arabia. The move was completed in three days with help from the 4404th Wg and ADVON team, Lt. Col. Ed Walby, 9th RW Chief of Plans, lead the ADVON team which had one days notice to deploy. The move was an oppourtunity to cut back on the personnel required to support the U-2 assets in the Middle East, which were reduced to 38 from 120. The 4402nd was one of the last US units left at Taif AB. Orignally planning for a 7 day no-fly window, in actuality the window was 2 1/2 days. The U-2s are using temporary hangers while new hangers are being built to combat the intense heat at Prince Sultan. -High Flyer (24 Oct 1997)

• U-2 Chief Test Pilot Retires.....Dave Kerzie retired after a 18yr career at Lockheed Martin. Dave joined Lockheed-California Company in 1979, and worked on the L-1011 program. He was transferred to Skunk Works inb 1983, as the U-2R/TR-1 experimental test pilot. In 1986 he received the Ivan Kincheloe Award for his work on the high-altitude flutter investigations. He also served in the Air Force for 20 years and flew both single and multi engined aircraft, along with a 186 mission combat tour in F-4 in Vietnam. Kerzie graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School in 1960 and USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1968. LMSW Star (25 July 1997)
  
  
• 12th Annual Blackbird Association Reunion wrap up.....The twelfth biennial Blackbird Association reunion was held in Reno, Nevada on June 5-8th. Consisting of former and current SR-71 and U-2 aircrews, maintenance and contractor personnel, the Blackbird Association fosters the unique reconnaissance capabilities of the two aircraft. The guest speaker for the evening banquet was Mr. Jack Gordon , President of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. Mr. Gordon presented The Kelly Johnson Award to Air Force Major Paul Nelson for his work in the Pentagon to keep the U-2 program viable for the future. Air Force Captain Mike "Z-Man" Zimmerman, was presented the Pratt & Whitney Award for his dedication and work on the re-activation of the SR-71s at Edwards AFB, Ca. The General Electric Award was given to Mr. Richard L. Fortin for his accomplishments in re-engining of the U-2S aircraft. Chief Master Sergeant (ret) Don Campbell received the "J.T." Vida Award for his lifetime loyalty and dedication to the SR-71 program. The Hughes Best Detachment Award went to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's Operating Location France (OL-FR), Istres, France, for their sustained U -2 support of Bosnia. -Richard Graham
  
  
• 9th RW Personnel are awarded Air Force Humanitarian Service Medal....The men and women of the 9 Reconnnaissance Wing have been awarded the Air Force Humanitarian Service Medal for their efforts in assisting the 8,000 people that were forced to move to avoid the rising waters of the Feather and Yuba Rivers. Beale AFB, and the 9 RW provided shelter, security, medical assistance, and food during the January 1997 flooding. (See story below on the flooding) -Space Sentinel (30 May 1997)
  
  
• Colonel Charles Simpson assumed Command of 9 Reconnaissance Wing....Col. Charles Simpson assumed command of the 9 RW from Brig. General Robert Behler on 18 April 1997. Col Simpson, comes from the the Pentagon where he was chief of Joint Staff Policy Division. Brig. Gen Behler will be going to become Director of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Systems at US Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, NE, he was commander of the 9 RW for 19 months. -Space Sentinel and 9RW Public Affairs (25 April 1997)
  
  
• U-2s and SR-71 Take Part in Search for Missing A-10....The recon assets of the 9 Recon Wing have been used in the search for the missing A-10 flown by Capt. Craig Button. The U-2 first flew a "wet film" mission on Monday, 7 April 1997, which was flown by Capt. Paul Britton, though cloud cover over the area hampered visibility. Additional U-2 "wet film" missions were flown on the 12th(#0331 & #1092) and 13th(#0331) of April, plus an ASARS(Advanced Synthetic Aperature Radar) equipped U-2 from Palmdale was flown to the Aspen area on the 9th and 11th of April. Then on Monday, 14 April 1997, a SR-71 equipped with ASARS was tasked to overfly the seach area in Colorado, while enroute to a Roving Sands sortie, the SR flew a 360 degree, 140 mile circle around Aspen, CO this imagery was to be instrumental in locating the missing A-10. Also an additional U-2(#1095) sortie was flown on the 18th of April. -Space Sentinel(11 and 18 April 1997) & 9 RW Public Affairs (Sorry for the delay in posting this, 6 May 1997 & 23 Sept. 1997); Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Star (30 May 1997)
  
  
• Last U-2R Mission Flown.....The last camera-mission combat sortie was flown out of Istreas AB, France (OL-FR) in support of Operation Deliberate Guard on Feb 21, 1997. Major Domenick Eanniello flew U-2R #80-1068 in the last of more than 30,000 missions that the R model has flown in the last 30 years. The 9 RW Dets all now fly the new S model, the remaining R models, while awaiting the convertion to S specs, will be used for training purposes. -Space Sentinel & 9 RW Public Affairs (20 March 1997)
  
  
• BEALE AFB HELPS OUT IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FLOODS. 9 RW Public Affairs/ Air Force News Service

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