As U.S. and Israeli operations continue over Iran’s skies, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) published a series of infographics on its social media accounts showing the assets employed during the first 10 days of the so-called Operation Epic Fury—among them, the U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft, which have been in service for more than 70 years. These appear to be, in principle, among the final deployments of the aging high-altitude surveillance platform, intended to support the various air strikes directed against the theocratic regime, which have already significantly degraded the country’s military capabilities.
While it has not been specified which missions they took part in, it is worth noting that the veteran U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft were not included in the list published days earlier detailing the assets used during the first seven days of operations—allowing for the inference that their participation is more recent and not from the very start of the war. It is also important to highlight that the information published so far points to more than 5,000 successful strikes, including—among other things—damage to and the sinking of some 50 Iranian Navy warships.
Expanding on the details, CENTCOM stated that over the course of these days a wide range of Iranian targets were neutralized, spanning a broad array of buildings, air-defense systems, and combat platforms. A brief rundown includes command posts, barracks, and intelligence sites belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), facilities where ballistic missiles and drones were stored, plants where they were produced, various types of vessels, and communications facilities, among many other elements.
On the other hand, and in light of confirmation of their participation in Operation Epic Fury, it is worth recalling that the U.S. Air Force has been outlining the retirement of the U-2 Dragon Lady for years, with reports from specialized U.S. outlets since 2024 pointing to a decision to divest from the platform. At that time, the outlook suggested that the retirement process would begin in 2025 and could be completed in 2026, although it was also floated that a very small number of aircraft might be transferred to NASA for its own research projects. That would not be surprising, considering cases such as the F-15D fighters retired by the USAF and transferred to the agency in January.
Over their more than 70 years of service with the U.S. Air Force, the U-2 Dragon Lady fleet has undergone various modernization efforts to keep it suitable for modern operations, including—among other things—the upgrade of key equipment such as its radars in 2022. However, USAF restructuring plans—along with budget cuts and new priorities looking ahead—undermine its medium-term continuity.
In addition, the emergence of new unmanned systems in recent years has contributed to its decline, being viewed as cheaper to operate and lower-risk assets, since they do not require pilots to fly over high-threat areas. In fact, one of the platforms initially expected years ago to replace the U-2 Dragon Lady was the RQ-4 Global Hawk, which is now also included in the USAF’s restructuring plans. A more modern platform that would partially take over the role of the aforementioned spy planes would be the RQ-180 models developed by Northrop Grumman.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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