In February, the United States Navy first announced that its Boeing P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft would be employed in an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission—but not over a potential adversary’s territory. Instead, the flights occurred over the United States along the southern border with Mexico.
However, at least one United States Air Force Lockheed U-2 “Dragon Lady” was also deployed to carry out surveillance flights along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Air Force hadn’t confirmed when the flights occurred, but last week acknowledged it has been ongoing.
“I want to thank our U-2, RC-135 & RPA crews who are tirelessly providing unrivaled ISR support for @USNorthernCmd at the border to restore sovereignty and protect American communities…Stay safe and thank you! @PeteHegseth @SeanParnellATSD,” General David Allvin, Air Force chief of staff, wrote on Friday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The news comes after the U.S. Northern Command also deployed the Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) to patrol the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (renamed by President Donald Trump as the Gulf of America) to provide security to the U.S.-Mexico border.
In January, just days after taking office, the president also ordered 1,500 active-duty service members and additional air and intelligence assets to the southern border. Those personnel were meant to supplement the approximately 2,500 active-duty troops already conducting enforcement operations.
U-2s and the Border
This is not the first time that the famed Cold War aircraft—which can collect vast quantities of data, including high-resolution imagery, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and even measurement and signature intelligence—while airborne as high as 70,000 feet, has been employed in such a patrol mission.
In March 2021, a U-2 from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), California, also flew along a length of the southern border, but that was part of a “training sortie” rather than a joint operation with any federal agency.
As Air & Space Forces magazine also reported, the White House has made securing the border a “high-priority military mission” and that has included the use of Air Force and Navy aircraft, and U.S. Army helicopters. Since late January, the various aircraft have been employed in ISR missions along the border and off the coast of Mexico.
The U-2 was previously credited with gathering information about the Chinese “spy balloon” that flew over North America in February 2023 before being shot down by a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor off the coast of South Carolina.
End of the Line Coming for the U-2
There are currently around 27 U-2 spy planes believed to be in service, and all are based out of Beale AFB, but the reconnaissance aircraft are regularly deployed to forward operating locations, notably in Europe and the Middle East.
The famed U-2, developed at Lockheed’s famed “Skunk Works,” first entered service in 1955, while the current models were produced in the 1980s when U-2 production was restarted. Though the aircraft has been significantly upgraded and modernized, which has increased itsISR capabilities, the fleet is currently scheduled to be retired next year, with the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 stealth drone likely taking over the ISR role.
It is unclear if the U-2’s service will be extended to maintain the patrol flights in 2026 and beyond, but the U.S. Navy’s Poseidon aircraft also continue to conduct surveillance missions from Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. The U.S. Navy maintains a fleet of 135 P-8As, and it was in November that Boeing received a $1.7 billion contract modification to deliver an additional seven Lot 13 planes.
