In 1960, after years of suspecting the US was spying on them, the Soviet Union finally took down one of the mysterious highaltitude aircraft that had been observing them from the stratosphere. They also managed to capture the pilot and secure the wreck, unveiling an incredible spying machine far more advanced than anything in their arsenal.

The Lockheed U2 “Dragon Lady” is such a groundbreaking and valuable piece of American engineering that even after almost 80 years of taking its first flight, it continues to successfully operate, bringing vital data to US intelligence agencies and scientific researchers.

Over the decades, the battlehardened aircraft has conducted missions all over the world, including in the former Soviet bloc and in the Middle East, and it has even become a crucial research tool for NASA.

Furthermore, the aircraft was fitted with one of the most astonishing film cameras of its time, with some pilots claiming that it can capture a newspaper article headline from an altitude of over 70,000 feet.

Still, there have been numerous attempts to retire the aircraft, but as recently as 2020, the US Air Force awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin that could take the powerful U2 even further into the future…




Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, topsecret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.

All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.