El avión espía U-2, está viviendo una segunda juventud. Hace cuatro años el Pentágono iba a comenzar su retirada, pero fue bloqueada por el Congreso, al considerarlo todavía útil, debido a sus modernizaciones y al poder de sus sensores, lo que ha motivado que sea empleado frecuentemente en Afganistán. Ha pasado de buscar emplazamientos de misiles nucleares, para lo que fue diseñado, a detectar bombas en caminos, para combatir a los talibanes, así como a realizar misiones sobre Corea del Norte.
Actualmente, los pilotos de U-2 están en contacto directo con las tropas desplegadas en Afganistán, donde exploran los caminos por donde transitan las tropas y les proporcionan información cuando están bajo el fuego enemigo.
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The U-2 spy plane, the high-flying aircraft that was often at the heart of Cold War suspense, is enjoying an encore. Four years ago, the Pentagon was ready to start retiring it. But Congress blocked that move, saying the plane was still useful. And so it is. Because of updates and changes in the use of its powerful sensors, it has become the most sought-after spy craft in a very different war in Afghanistan. As it shifts from hunting for nuclear missiles to detecting roadside bombs, it is outshining even the unmanned drones in gathering a rich array of intelligence used to fight the Taliban.
All this is a remarkable change from the U-2's early days as a player in U.S.-Soviet espionage. Designed to find Soviet missiles, it became famous in 1960 when Francis Gary Powers was shot down in one while flying across the Soviet Union and again in 1962 when another U-2 took the photographs that set off the Cuban missile crisis.
Newer versions of the plane have gathered intelligence in every war since then and still monitor countries like North Korea.
Now the U-2 and its pilots, once isolated in their spacesuits at 70,000 feet, are in direct radio contact with the troops in Afghanistan. And instead of following a rote path, they are now shifted frequently in midflight to scout roads for convoys and aid soldiers in firefights.
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