RAFB set to repair broken U-2 aircraft
Aaron Leedy
Story Created:
Aug 24, 2012 at 4:42 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Aug 24, 2012 at 7:46 PM EDT
Battle damage experts from Robins Air Force Base will start repairing a broken U-2 aircraft.
The so-called "Dragon Lady" is being shipped by truck to RAFB from Palmdale, California. It has been housed there since it was damaged during routine maintenance back in 2008. The U-2 is a single-engine, very high-altitude aircraft used for weather intelligence gathering among other things.
"It's the first time we've ever done this. This is really breaking ground and that's why I'm thinking it's going to be very interesting. The wing sounds like they're very excited to take a look. They have never seen a U-2 before and I would love to see this thing fly out of here (RAFB)," said U-2 System Program Manager Col. Fred Kennedy.
Kennedy says it's more practical to repair the aircraft since a new one would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. He says there are currently 32 U-2's flying right now.
They've been used by the U.S. for more than 50 years.
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