24 November 1954
development of the U-2 was approved
4 August 1955
maiden flight of ‘The Article’ at Watertown Strip, later known as Groom Lake
1 May 1956
deployment to Europe begins
20 June 1956
first operational CIA mission flown over eastern Europe
4 July 1956
first overflight of the Soviet Union
11 June 1957
USAF begins U-2 operations from Laughlin AFB
13 May 1959
first flight of the U-2C powered by a P&W J75, which replaced the P&W J57 of the U-2A
1 May 1960
Gary Powers was shot down over Sverdlovsk, during the 24th and last U-2 overflight of the Soviet Union
April 1961
First flight tests of an aircraft modified for inflight refueling
13 January 1962
first overflight of mainland China by a pilot from the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) on Taiwan
10 February 1962
Gary Powers released from Soviet prison and returned to the US in a spy swop
14 October 1962
a U-2 flight over Cuba revealed the presence of ballistic missiles, and thus prompted the Cuba Missile Crisis
27 October 1962
USAF pilot Rudy Anderson shot down over Cuba
June 1963
USAF U-2 wing moved to Davis Monthan AFB
August 1963
first test flight from an aircraft carrier
March 1964
USAF deploys U-2s to Vietnam
28 August 1967
the enlarged and improved U-2R version made its first flight
8 September 1967
a fifth U-2 flown from Taiwan was shot down over China, prompting the end of overflights
13 August 1971
first SENIOR BOOK mission was flown over the southeast Asia, with COMINT data downlinked to a ground station
13 February 1973
first flight of the pilot training U-2CT version
July 1974
CIA ends its U-2 operation, including the joint venture on Taiwan
April 1976
USAF ends operations in southeast Asia, but establishes a new base in Korea
July 1976
USAF moves its U-2 squadron to the 9th SRW at Beale
8 January 1980
the first operational ELINT collection sortie was accomplished, using the SENIOR RUBY system
1 August 1981
the first of 37 new-build TR-1, U-2R and ER-2 aircraft took off on its first flight
9 July 1985
the first operational mission with the ASARS imaging radar was flown over central Europe
December 1986
First deployment of an aircraft with the SENIOR SPAN satellite relay system
23 May 1989
first flight of an aircraft re-engined with the GE F118 turbofan, redesignated U-2S
17 August 1990
first two U-2s deployed for Operation Desert Shield to monitor Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
January-February 1991
12 aircraft flew 238 missions in 42 days during Operation Desert Storm
March-May 1999
U-2s flew 189 missions in 78 days over the Balkans during Operation Allied Force
December 2000
first flight of the RAMP development airplane, with a modern ‘glass’ cockpit
5 October 2001
first mission over Afghanistan in Operaton Enduring Freedom
March 2003
Largest-ever U-2 operation as 15 aircraft flew in Operation Iraqi Freedom
Late 2005
USAF announced that the Global Hawk would replace the U-2 by 2011. This date was later postponed
March 2014
Another U-2 retirement date was set: 2017
May 2017
USAF announced that the U-2 will be kept in service indefinitely
