Spy Planes I was just reading an article about the famous SR-71 spy plane known as the Blackbird. It is still the plane which holds many speed records even though it first flew in 1964. It turns out there was more to the plane than most of us knew because it carried a drone. The drone was large for a drone at that time and sat on the back of the plane. They weren’t called drones in those days but Remotely Piloted Aircraft or RPAs. Lockheed developed the drone and it was powered by a ramjet engine. The target speed for the drone was up to 3.5 times the speed of sound. It also was supposed to have a range of 3,000 miles and a ceiling of 95,000 feet. There were no digital photos in those days so the drone was designed to parachute its film down to the surface when over an area where the film could be safely recovered. The drone was so secret, it was constructed to self-destruct when at the end of its mission. Things never worked out for the drone and the program was eventually cancelled. Over the years several different spy planes were developed in this country, some were more successful than others. As many of us know, Gary Powers was shot down while flying over Russia in a Lockheed U-2. The plane was believed to be unable to be shot down because it flew very high. The Soviets at the time improved the range of their ground to air missiles and the U-2 became a sitting duck. It is still used today in certain situations. Powers was supposed to take a poison pill if he was going to be captured. What a terrible thought. He didn’t and I don’t blame him, but this resulted in his capture and a show trial being conducted. Boeing designed a plane known as the Bird of Prey. It was not a traditional spy plane in the sense, it was more of a test platform for new technologies to be test in which might be used on spy planes. It flew from 1992 to 1999. Sometimes a plane can serve several different kinds of missions and the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk was that kind of plane. While technically not a spy plane, it could be used as one because of its great stealth features at the time. It was almost impossible to pick it up on the radar of the time. The plane could not be controlled without using a computer to make thousands of corrections to its flight path every minute. This was because of its odd shape which was created to make it stealthy. When it was used over Iran and made its first appearance, it surprised the world. It was not particularly fast, and relied completely on stealth to not be detected. Not all spy planes have to fly over enemy territory to spy. An example of one which doesn’t, is the U.S. Airforce plane known as the RC-135 Rivet Joint. It has been around a long time, since 1961 and can locate and read signals and send the results as far as across the world. For certain types of missions this is the way to go. It is also useful when a spy plane is flying over enemy territory while it intercepts signals at the same time. The plane is large, the size of a commercial airliner and has 4 jet engines. When the Cuban missile crisis started, we decided the best plane to use as a spy plane was the RF-8. It was able to fly low, avoid all antiaircraft fire and take photos of the Cuban Ballistic Missile sites. The RF-8 was built by Chance-Vought and known as the Crusader. It was a supersonic U.S. Navy Jet. It was the reconnaissance version of the F-8 Crusader, Navy fighter plane. It used to be called the F8U, but in 1962 the Navy changed the designations of it planes to make more sense. There was a huge plane by Convair. It was the B-36 Peacemaker. It was the largest piston engine plane ever built. It had a reconnaissance version. This plane went from giant bomber to giant spy plane. Included on the plane were 14 cameras and a darkroom for developing film. Today 14 cameras would not be a big deal, but in those days, cameras were a lot bigger and it was a big deal to have so many on a plane. In the areas where it could be used, it was a great asset. Eventually some big planes full of electronics were developed to spy and to also have other duties. Such is the E-3. You probably know it better as the AWACS. It is a plane used for command and control, but also for surveillance. Besides the surveillance it has the ability to communicate not only back to U.S. planes and stations, but also to NATO equipment. The Soviets and Russians had several different models of spy planes, we were not alone in this effort. Our allies also had a few of their own. The British turned the Vulcan bomber into a reconnaissance plane and it flew from the 1970s to 1982. They created nine of them. This was not the first time they made a reconnaissance aircraft. In World War II there was a famous British plane named the Mosquito. The plane was also famous for being built mostly out of wood instead of hard to get strategic materials. It is said it was one of the most important reconnaissance aircraft of the war and was used to speed over Western Europe. Three cameras were installed on it and it took many photos. One of the Soviet jets was converted to a reconnaissance role, it was the second fastest plane at the time. It was the Mikoyan-Girevich MiG-25. Besides being very fast, it could easily reach an altitude over 80,000 feet. The MiG-25 first flew on March 6, 1964. One Soviet and Russian plane which has been flying reconnaissance for decades is the Tupolev Tu-16R Badger. It has been spotted many times flying near our country. It is the first Soviet long range bomber which some models fly on reconnaissance. This plane first flew in 1952. Another huge bomber also is set up to fly reconnaissance missions and it is the Tupolev TU-95 Bear. It has counter-rotating props and as been called the loudest propeller plane in the world. It also had its first flight in 1952. Spy planes are very important to all nations, due to the high state of suspicion we have today. Some of them have been replaced by advanced drones and maybe some day they all will be. Reconnaissance is just another word for spying.
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