After working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to bring back America's first asteroid sample to Earth this weekend, Lockheed Martin is having a busy September as the firm has successfully flown a U-2 aircraft with upgraded avionics systems. The U-2 is one of the oldest aircraft in the world, and it first took to the skies in 1955 as part of a test program and through its history, the aircraft has been operated by the Navy, the Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Lockheed Martin's latest upgrades for the U-2 are part of the Air Force's U-2 Dragon Lady Avionics Tech Refresh Program (ATR), a $50 million contract that the Air Force awarded to the firm in 2020.
Lockheed Martin's Latest U-2 Upgrade Adds New Displays And Computers To The Aircraft
The U-2 has one of the highest service ceilings in the world for a crewed aircraft, which allows it to climb to an altitude of at least 80,000 feet for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes. The aircraft is also capable of maintaining a communications link during flight, which is a must have feature for mission critical applications as it allows teams on the ground to receive data in real time while the plane is flying.
However, the fact that the plane has been in service for decades also necessitates regular upgrades to ensure that the U-2 is capable of supporting modern day platforms. The ATR program seeks to bring these capabilities to the plane. According to Lockheed, the first test flight of the upgraded U-2 saw the aircraft test new onboard systems for communications and navigation, a new computer that allows it to team up with air, space, land and cyber warfighting systems and new cockpit displays that are in line with modern technology and requirements.
The upgraded U-2 conducted a low altitude test flight in Palmdale, California. During this test, the U-2's pilot checked all these systems. As part of the ATR program, the aircraft features crucial upgrades to its avionics and flight control systems to ensure that they can work with newer technologies. The aircraft's mission computer is also designed to meet the Air Force's open mission systems (OMS), which seek to combine information from different domains for improved decision making.
Lockheed's ATR program seeks to make the U-2 fully compliant with the OMS. According to the Air Force, the OMS allows different systems on different aircraft to communicate with each other by using common data formats. Lockheed Martin is not the only defense contractor that is bringing the format to its products. Northrop Grumman and Boeing are both working on products as well, with Northrop demonstrating a radar system compliant with the OMS in 2020.
The latest variant of the U-2 that is operational is called the U-2S. Despite being in service for decades, aircraft like the U-2 have most of their airframes available for future missions due to low flight hours. The latest upgrades are among the first of their kind introduced to the U-2 since the early 2000s, and while some other components are upgrades, the mission computer is a new addition that is designed specifically to meet the OMS requirements. Additionally, the display upgrades will also feature some touchscreen capabilities, according to a Lockheed official who spoke to Aviation Week in 2020.
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