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retired U-2 reconnaissance aircraft damaged in 2008 during scheduled maintenance arrived at Robins AFB, Ga., where technicians will repair it and return it to operational status, according to U-2 program officials. This U-2 is a 1980s model with a more rigid airframe than earlier Dragon Lady variants, according to an Aug. 30 Robins release. It came to Robins on a truck, reaching the base on Aug. 24, states the release. The decision to repair the U-2 at Robins is the result of a new partnership between the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance division and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex. It’s possible that this U-2 overhaul will be the start of long-term organic support for the Dragon Lady fleet at Warner Robins, since the Air Force now intends to keep U-2s operating to 2025, according to the release. Palmdale, Calif., is the home of U-2 periodic depot maintenance today. (Robins report by April Benton)
Defense experts say the drone threat represents only part of a larger, looming problem: U.S. air bases in the Pacific are increasingly vulnerable to air attacks.