The House Appropriations Committee has released a draft defense spending bill that would prevent the Air Force from retiring more than two U-2S spy planes in the 2027 fiscal year. The bill also includes $81 million for programmed depot maintenance to fully restore four aircraft.
The Air Force has argued that the U-2S is too vulnerable for future high-end fights and should be replaced by space-based and other capabilities. However, Congress has repeatedly intervened to block the retirement of the fleet due to concerns about the aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability gap.
The U-2S remains a unique ISR platform that can fly higher than any other operational non-orbital platform, offering a wide array of sensor systems and communications packages. Its high-altitude capabilities have been demonstrated in various operations, including the tracking of a Chinese spy balloon in 2023.
