The 2024 compromise defense bill won’t let the Air Force retire its T-1A Jayhawk trainers until the service’s new pilot training system is up and running and the Secretary of the Air Force certifies that retiring the jet won’t slow the pace of producing new pilots. The bill also might allow the Air Force to accept some T-7A advanced trainers built before a contract for them is actually in place.
The 2024 National Defense Authorization Bill prohibits Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall from retiring any of the service’s aging T-1A Jayhawks until he certifies the “full, fleet-wide implementation” of the new Undergraduate Pilot Training curriculum, previously called UPT 2.5. Kendall also has to send Congress a written assessment of how the UPT curriculum will affect the completion rates of new pilot trainees, and whether the retirements affect the speed at which they complete their training.

The Air Force had asked to retire 52 T-1As in the fiscal 2024 defense budget request. The jets have been used since the 1990s to train pilots on the tanker/transport track, but under the new UPT curriculum, the live-fly T-1 curriculum would be phased out in favor of all-simulator training.
The service has said that the new UPT scheme will be more individualized and allow pilots to progress more at their own pace, thus reducing the number of washouts and working to erase the Air Force’s chronic pilot shortage, which has wavered between 1,500 and 2,000 pilots for a decade.
Even before the 2024 defense bill got to Congress, some Republican members were lobbying the service to upgrade and retain the jets, which are at or beyond their planned service lives. In a February letter from some members of the Mississippi delegation—Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, as well as Reps. Michael Guest and Trent Kelly—the lawmakers voiced concern that if there’s a delay with shifting to high-fidelity simulation at the necessary scale, “the Air Force will lose any ability to effectively train pilots” in an aircraft comparable to what they’ll fly after graduation.
Given “recent media reports of further delays in the T-7A program, the T-1A may be the best defense against unforeseen shortfalls that may adversely affect the pilot training pipeline,” the Mississippi lawmakers wrote.
Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi is one of the Air Force’s UPT bases. The Jayhawk is also flown at Laughlin and Randolph Air Force Bases in Texas; Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma and at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., where the Air Force jointly conducts some of its weapon system officer and navigator training with the Navy. 

The Air Force has said it wants to use the money that would be spent on extending the T-1’s service life and operating it to advance to the simulation format, which will also allow the service to rely more on contract instructors rather than uniformed pilots, thus saving more rated slots for the operational force.
The Air Force was not immediately able to say when it expects the new UPT syllabus to be fully implemented.
Congressional concern with the speed of pilot training was also reflected in NDAA language regarding the T-7. In anticipation of a low-rate initial production contract that was initially expected this month, Boeing has conducted some construction work on aircraft beyond the five that will be used for flight test, on the grounds that the T-7 test aircraft were built on the same tooling that will be used for production, and the team is already in place to start ramping up production. That work wasn’t supervised by the Defense Contract Management Agency, however, and, technically, specifications for the objective aircraft have yet to be spelled out in a contract.  
Delays in testing and in resolving a number of issues discovered in testing thus far has blocked the Air Force from issuing contracts for production aircraft, leaving in question what will happen to the materials produced before the contract is actually awarded.
Lawmakers now want from Kendall a “schedule risk assessment” of the T-7A, “at the 80 percent confidence level, that includes risks associated with the overlap of the development, testing, and production phases of the program and risks related to contractor management.”

The compromise language directs the Air Force to present a “plan for determining the conditions under which the Secretary of the Air Force may accept production work” on the T-7A “that was completed by the contractor for the program in anticipation of the Air Force ordering additional systems, but which was not subject to typical production oversight because there was no contract for the procurement of such additional systems in effect when such work was performed.’’
The $9 billion T-7A contract was awarded in 2018. The first production aircraft were to have been delivered in early 2023, but delays having to do with ejection seat issues, flight controls and other problems, as well as pandemic-related labor and supply issues, have delayed the program. Boeing has absorbed more than $1 billion in losses on the fixed-price program, due to the above issues and inflation.
The first T-7A flight with an Air Force test pilot at the controls took place in June. The Air Force accepted the first of the five test aircraft in mid-September, but Boeing, along with its partner Saab of Sweden, has done work on two more aircraft.
The Air Force plans to buy 351 T-7As to replace its T-38 Talons, now serving more than 60 years. The Government Accountability Office pegs the T-7A program at more than two years behind schedule and anticipates more delays to come. Air Force acquisition executive Andrew Hunter told Congress in April that the target of 2024 for initial operational capability of the T-7A will slip to 2027 at the earliest, after reporting just a few months earlier that IOC would come in 2026.
The Air Force didn’t include production money in its FY’24 budget request for the T-7A, assuming it wouldn’t be able to start production due to the ejection seat problem. However, it forecast that 94 of the trainers will be built through the end of its five-year plan at a cost of $2.205 billion.

Russians are getting really fed up with the Ukrainian crew of that Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane that has been dogfighting with, and shooting down, Russian surveillance drones—World War I-style. A Russian drone operator's view of the Ukrainian Yak-52 and its back-seat gunner.
RUSSIAN MILITARY CAPTURERussians are getting really fed up with the Ukrainian crew of that Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane that has been dogfighting with, and shooting down, Russian surveillance drones—World War I-style.
In three months, two aviators riding in a Yak-52—a front-seat pilot and a back-seat gunner—have taken out at least 12 Russian drones, if you believe the kill markings the crew has painted on the side of the 1970s-vintage plane.
“Isn’t it time to shoot him down?” one Russian blogger wrote.
The problem for the Russians is that a Yak-52 is hard to knock down for the same reason it’s an effective platform for a shotgun-armed crew member taking potshots at nearby drones. The Yakovlev is robust and inconspicuous.
A propeller-driven Yak-52 doesn’t paint a very big picture on the radar screens of Russia’s beleaguered long-range air defense batteries. And even if you damage a Yak-52 by, say, ramming it with a drone—the crew could probably still land the plane.
Earlier this month, another Russian blogger complained about the Yak-52 crew “firing at our UAVs like it’s a shooting gallery” over the city of Odesa in southern Ukraine.
It wasn’t a new problem. Apparently searching for an efficient method of eliminating $100,000 Russian drones without firing a $4-million Patriot missile or some other pricey air defense munition, back in April the Ukrainians began taking to the air in that Yak-52, maneuvering to within shotgun range of intruding drones—and blasting them out of the air.

It worked so well that, earlier this month, the Ukrainian intelligence directorate began training gunners to hunt Russian unmanned aerial vehicles from locally-made Aeroprakt A-22 sport planes. The Yakovlev crew’s successful hunts have inspired a whole new anti-drone tactic.
The Russians are losing patience as their losses pile up. “The Yak-52 flew over Odessa and with high efficiency shot down our reconnaissance UAVs for a week, causing laughter in some circles,” the blogger wrote. “This has not been funny to UAV operators and us for a long time.”
But it’s not clear what the Russian military can do about the Yak-52. Its patrol zone is at least 50 miles from the nearest Russian position. Yet the closest Russian air defense batteries are probably much farther away, as Ukrainian drone and missile raids continue to deplete their numbers and drive them farther from the front line.
In any event, a Yak-52 might be tough to detect. One 1976 study found that a Cessna 172—a propeller plane similar to a Yak-52 in size and shape—presents a radar cross-section of less than a square meter from certain angles. That’s a quarter the radar cross-section of a typical fighter jet.
The Russian operators of the very drones the Yak-52 crew has been hunting could try to ram the Ukrainian plane. It wouldn’t be unprecedented. On many occasions in Russia’s 28-month wider war on Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian crews have downed enemy drones by running their own drones into them.
But it’s one thing for two drones each weighing just a few pounds to tangle in mid-air: either could destroy the other. But smash a 20-pound ZALA surveillance drone into a 1.5-ton Yak-52 and the damage might not be catastrophic.

The U.S. military’s first war ace since Vietnam is fighting an enemy his predecessors couldn’t have imagined. Marine Capt. Earl Ehrhart has shot down seven explosives-packed suicide drones with his Harrier jump jet in the Navy’s effort to keep Red Sea shipping lanes open. The military defines an ace as any crew member whose aircraft has shot down five enemy aircraft. “I never imagined I was going to be doing this when we launched,” Ehrhart told the BBC, which was granted a tour of the USS Bataan, one of dozens of ships involved in the Red Sea operation.
Ehrhart told BBC the force is under constant threat of attack from Houthi rebels who began attacking merchant ships in December. The Bataan is actually an amphibious assault ship designed to rapidly deploy fully equipped fight forces to conflict areas. It pivoted to an air defense vessel with some outside-the-box thinking by its crew. “We took a Harrier jet and modified it for air defence,” Ehrhart told the BBC. “We loaded it up with missiles and that way were able to respond to their drone attacks.” The ship picks up the drones on its sensors and Ehrhart heads off in a one-sided pursuit. “They are shooting at us all the time, so we need to be even more focused. Our systems need to be primed so we can stay safe.”

The F-15 twin-engine, high-performance, all-weather air superiority fighter became operational in November 1974 as the first aircraft in the US Military arsenal that could accelerate in a vertical climb. It was also the airplane that outpaced the Saturn V moon rocket when climbing to an altitude of 100,000 feet (just over 30,000 meters). After they got their hands on the first batch of combat-ready F-15s in late 1974, the top hats of the United States Air Force realized that the fastest PR stunt the new fighter could pull would be to smash aviation records. By January 1975 – less than two months after its commissioning – the aircraft was dropping previous world records like bowling pins.

The major race was not against its predecessor, the F-4 Phantom, but aimed at the perennial cold-war rival, the Soviet Union. Specifically, the MiG-25 Foxbat - the 3.2-Mach capable fighter developed to hunt down the legendary SR-71 Blackbird. The Soviet warplane was considered a severe threat to the best U.S. fighters of the era, and the F-15 was updated to match the MiG.

However, without a direct, head-to-head confrontation, the next best tool to assess the newly launched ‘Strike Eagle’ was to set new records that would be recognized worldwide, regardless of politics. And so, the race was on to its next round: time-to-altitude climb. USAF and McDonnell Douglas put on quite a show with a specially modified F-15 – named ‘Streak Eagle’ which broke five world records in one day and eight over two weeks and three days.

Three USAF pilots were designated to reclaim the crown for the U.S. between January 16 and February 1, 1975, over Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. They took turns in the cockpit of the modified airplane and blasted through previous achievements at supersonic speeds and on full afterburner. The aircraft was essentially a stripped-down preproduction version of the combat airplane.

All unnecessary deadweight was removed – including the paint, 20-mm Vulcan rotary cannon and ammo, radars, radios, and other non-essentials. A pitot boom was fitted to the nose, and high-accuracy instruments were installed for precise speed and acceleration measurements. Thanks to its thrust-to-weight ratio of nearly 1.5:1, the specially-prepped F-15 would set eight records during the 17 days of testing.

On January 16, the five F-4-Phantom II records fell during three attempts made by the F-15. The ‘Time to 3,000 m (9,843 feet)’ was improved by Major Roger Smith by a 20% margin, from 34.52 seconds to 27.57 seconds. A hold-back system was fitted to the Streak Eagle, which then accelerated to full throttle before being released. The short takeoff distance of 400 m (1,220 feet) left very little time for the pilot to retract the landing gear before pulling a 5G vertical climb. Due to this detail, several attempts were aborted as the aircraft neared the never-exceed speed for the landing gear and had to slow down, compromising the trial. However, the pilot eventually got the hang of it and smashed the standing record.

A second flight that same day broke three records, with Major Willard Macfarlane at the stick. ‘Time to 6,000 m, 9,000 m, and 12,000 m’ (19,685 ft, (29,528 ft, and 39,370 ft)’ were simply obliterated by the Streak Eagle’s fast ascend. The old world bests were 48.79 seconds, 61.68 seconds, and 77.14 seconds. The F-15 did it in 39.33 s, 48.86 s, and 59.38s.

In the afternoon, the plane took off one last time for the day, going for the 15,000-meter ceiling (49,212 ft), shaving 37 seconds (or 33%) off the old 114.50 seconds. The twin-engine fighter hit the mark in 77.02 seconds, around 10 seconds quicker than the Saturn V Moon rocket. See the video attached for a detailed and accurate report of the events. Having taken the crown from the aging F-4, the new kid on the block put the Soviet fighter in its sights and floored it. Or, better yet, 'ceiling’ed' it since the next thresholds lay at or beyond 20,000 m overhead. On January 19, Roger Smith aced the ‘Time to 20,000 m (65,617 ft)’ flight, seeing the MiG-25’s 169.80 seconds and raising the Eagle’s 122.94-second performance.

Seven days later, Major Dave Peterson put on the high-pressure suit (all attempts above 15,000 m / 50,000 feet required this special equipment) and dropped below the three-minute mark in the high-speed, high-altitude record. In 1974, the Soviet aircraft hit the required level in 192.60 seconds (three minutes and twelve seconds), while the Eagle managed a 161.02-second performance (two minutes and forty-one seconds).

Finally, on February 1, 1975, the man who first clubbed previous records, Major Roger Smith, got in the cockpit one last time and aimed for the absolute win: ‘Time to 30,000 m (98,425 ft).’ The F-15 outpaced the MiG-25 by over half a minute, scoring 207.80 seconds, compared to the MiG’s 243.86 seconds. Maj. Smith shut down the twin jets after smashing the record to protect the engines from overheating and suffering irreparable damage.

Due to its 2.2-Mach momentum, the Streak Eagle continued on a ballistic trajectory, coasting silently until it hit 103,000 ft (33,792 meters). The extremely thin atmosphere wasn’t absorbing the engines’ heat quickly enough, so the plane – essentially a glider flying at just 55 knots (63 miles per hour, 102 kilometers per hour) – was moving solely on inertia. The pilot pushed over into a 55-degree dive until the plane reached a safe altitude of 55,000 feet (16,764 meters). Major Smith reignited the engines, and the F-15 Streak Eagle safely returned to land at Grand Forks.

The record-setting F-15 was an early version of the standard fighter, 63 feet, 9.0 inches (19.4 meters) long, with a wingspan of 42 feet, 9.7 inches (13 meters), and 18 feet, 5.4 inches (5.6 meters) long. A regular F-15 had an empty weight of 25,870 lbs (11,734 kilograms) and a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 44,497 lbs (20,184 kilograms).

However, the Streak Eagle was 1,800 lbs (817 kg) lighter than a production F-15A. Furthermore, its twin jets were given only the strict amount of fuel necessary to carry the record-breaking attempts. The two Pratt&Whitney afterburning turbofan engines have a Maximum Continuous Power rating of 12,410 lb of thrust (55.2 kilonewtons), a 14,690-lb (65.34 kN) 30-minute limit, and a peak 23,840-lb (106 kN) 5-minute limit. An F-15A Eagle can cruise at 502 knots (578 mph / 930 kph hour), with a top speed of 893 knots (1,028 mph / 1,654 kph) at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The supersonic jet can hit 1,434 knots (1,650 mph / 2,656 kph) at 45,000 feet (13,716 meters), and its operational ceiling is 63,050 feet (19,218 meters) at max thrust. The regular F-15s had a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.15:1, enabling them to climb at 67,250 feet per minute (342 meters per second) from sea level.

The record-setting F-15 Streak Eagle was donated to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in 1980 and put on outside display. A coat of camouflage grey paint was sprayed on the historic plane to protect its bare-metal body. The fighter wore the famous livery for over four decades, but it has been recently restored to its correct exposed aluminum finish. It is currently in storage in a hangar at the Museum.
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While officially retired in 2008, the F-117 Nighthawk have continued to fly, unofficially, from Tonopah Test Range (TTR) airfield in Nevada. As explained in a detailed story, back in 2014, after a few videos and photographs had already appeared online, the U.S. Air Force admitted that the Nighthawk was kept in a â€œType 1000” storage at TTR which meant that the type is had to be maintained until called into active service. Desert conditions of Nevada are perfect for maintaining the stealth jets in pristine conditions (due to the low level of humidity and hence, lower probability of corrosion), hence the reason to operate the enigmatic aircraft from TTR.
In July 2016, we published a video showing two F-117s flying together, filmed from the distant hills east of Tonopah Test Range, then, in 2017, the U.S. Air Force announced the decision to retire the fleet permanently, once and for all. In fact, “in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, passed Dec. 23, 2017 the Air Force said it would remove four F-117s every year to fully divest them. However, the aircraft continued to be spotted, even more than it had happened until then, with the Nighthawks also deploying to several U.S. bases to carry out Dissimilar Air Combat Training with other U.S. types. Until 2021, when the U.S. Air Force published the first official images of the type still involved in flight operations on the DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) network.

Anyway, it’s no longer a secret that 15 years after being officially retired, the F-117s are being actively used not only for training purposes as adversary aircraft and cruise missile surrogate, but also for research, development, test and evaluation. As a consequence, they continue to be spotted as they fly their missions across the U.S., as happened on Friday Apr. 21, 2023, when aviation photographer Alex filmed two Nighthawks flying low level over the Eastern Sierras on the famous Sidewinder low level route.
“I believe this is the lowest they have been observed flying along the low level route,” Alex told us in a message. “I was blown away when I heard them call on the radio, and even more amazed to watch them fly past.”
Take a look by yourself at the incredible footage Alex posted:

Dave “Bio” Baranek enjoyed a successful and satisfying 20-year career in the Navy, starting with assignments to F-14 squadrons as Tomcat Radar Intercept Office (RIO) and the elite TOPGUN training program, and later assignment to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the US 7th Fleet. At one point, he commanded an F-14 Tomcat fighter squadron, responsible for nearly 300 people and 14 aircraft worth about $700 million. He completed his career with 2,499.7 F-14 Tomcat flight hours and 688 carrier landings.
The Grumman F-14A Tomcat was the first of the American teen-series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War. However despite the fact that the F-14 was a formidable dogfighter, what made the Tomcat unique was fleet air defense role. To accomplish this mission the aircraft was fitted with a powerful weapons system known as the AWG-9 which was able to support the AIM-54 Phoenix that provided an unprecedented one-hundred mile range and included a small onboard radar to guide itself to the target during the final phase of flight.

Because of the AWG-9’s impressive capabilities a RIO in the back seat of the F-14 was required to optimize it in various stages of a mission.
Of all the training environments faced by a Tomcat crew, possibly the most challenging one for a RIO was that of a so called MISSILEX (a Missile Exercise, where a “live” missile is launched against a drone acting like an airborne target). In his book Before Topgun Days Baranek tells the story of the second AIM-7 Sparrow he ever shot: in Dec. 1982, while attached to the VF-24 Fighting Renegades Fleet squadron, he and Lieutenant Commander Steve “Drifty” Smith were in fact chosen to launch a Sparrow at a target over the Pacific Ocean off Southern California.
Since the missile shot had to follow a test and evaluation (T&E) profile, both drone and Tomcat were required to fly supersonic, an aspect that added more challenges to the already complex drill scenario.
As they approached the launch range, Drifty shoved the throttles to Zone 5 (maximum afterburner for F-14A) and they accelerated through Mach 1, then an AQM-37 target drone was launched by an A-6 Intruder operated by the Pacific Missile Test Center.

NASA awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to study the feasibility of building a hypersonic propulsion system for a concept intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft dubbed the SR-72 using existing turbine engine technologies.
As explained by James C. Goodall in his book 75 years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the contract provides for a parametric design study to establish the viability of a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system consisting of several combinations of near-term turbine engine solutions integrated with a very low-Mach ignition dual-mode ramjet (DMRJ) in the SR-72 vehicle concept.
The SR-72 is envisioned as an unmanned, reusable hypersonic ISR and strike aircraft capable of Mach 6 flight, or nearly double the speed of its predecessor, the SR-71 Blackbird. NASA is funding the validation of a previous Lockheed study that found that speeds up to Mach 7 could be achieved with a dual-mode engine that combines turbine and ramjet technologies.
Skunk Works was responsible for developing the SR-71 Blackbird, which was able to achieve Mach 3.2 with specially designed Pratt & Whitney J58 engines. The power plants were able to function as a low-speed ramjet by redirecting intake air around the engine core and into the afterburner starting at Mach 1.4 to full turboramjet from Mach 2.5 and above.
Potential adversaries are working on technologies to counter USAF fighter and bomber stealth capabilities. The service sees hypersonic vehicles as the next logical step in that arms race.
The USAF has a hypersonics roadmap that envisions fielding a hypersonic strike weapon, to succeed the X-51 Waverider proof-of-concept demonstration. The Waverider successfully launched from a B-52 and was powered to Mach 4.8 by a booster rocket. The X-51 then accelerated to Mach 5.1 after igniting its ramjet engine.
The roadmap envisions a follow-on program calling for a reusable unmanned aircraft with Mach 6 speeds. At that speed, intelligence can be gathered or weapons delivered before enemy air defenses are even alerted.

Both the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and DARPA have been after a low-speed ramjet for years. The agencies’ HTV-3X program demonstrated that a ramjet that could operate below Mach 3. That inspired Lockheed to partner with Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop a way to use off-the shelf engines like the F100 or F110 for short bursts of acceleration beyond Mach 2.2 in an attempt to close the gap between the two propulsion technologies. This study is to see if the SR-72 technology demonstrator can use existing technologies to create a dual-mode ramjet that in theory can light up at Mach 2 to 2.5. The key to this whole effort is whether they can do it and finding the required technologies so they can plan for a program in which they can develop the program as envisioned.
The problem with hypersonic propulsion has always been the gap between the highest-speed capability of a turbojet and the lowest speed of a ramjet. Most ramjets cannot achieve ignition below Mach 4. Turbine engines typically can accelerate to only Mach 2.2, below speeds at which a ramjet could take over and continue acceleration. Therefore, NASA and Lockheed must develop either a turbine engine that can accelerate to Mach 4 or a ramjet that can function at speeds within a turbine engine’s envelope. Design engineers from both Lockheed Martin and NASA are looking for a turbine-based combined system where at low speeds you have a turbine providing power, then at higher speeds a ramjet or scramjet takes over. The target is to be able to go up to Mach 7 then transition back to the turbine to land it on a runway and recover it. The problem is how you can get the vehicle to fly fast enough to ignite the DMRJ and then have the DMRJ take over.
NASA is considering several existing turbofan engines for use in the project, including the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 that powers both the Boeing F-15 and Lockheed Martin F-16, among other aircraft. The General Electric F414 used by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet also is being studied, along with the supersonic turbine engine for long range (STELR) engine conceived by AFRL.
If the study is successful, NASA wants to fund a demonstration program. Lockheed Martin would test the dual-mode ramjet in a flight research vehicle, and try to find solutions to issues like engine packaging and designing the thermal management system.
As with all programs being developed in the late 2019/early 2020-time frame, to include the SR-72 program, canceled programs due to budget cuts and reduced manpower available to this and other critical programs under development.

Rolls-Royce has begun testing its F130 engine that will replace the existing engines in the US Air Force’s B-52 Stratofortress bomber fleet.
The testing at the company’s outdoor facility at the NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi marks the first time the new engines are trialed in the dual-pod configuration, as each B-52 requires eight engines in four pods.
Under the latest effort, Rolls-Royce is focusing on the F130’s crosswind aerodynamic flow and the operability of its digital control system with the strategic bomber.
Data from the ongoing trials will be assessed over the coming months.
Extends B-52 Life for 30 Years“We are excited to begin this milestone testing program, the first step for what will be decades of successful engine operation for the United States Air Force B-52 fleet,” Rolls-Royce Defense Program Director Candice Bineyard stated.
Rolls-Royce is closely collaborating with Boeing “to ensure the engine testing and integration process run smoothly.” Boeing is managing the B-52 aircraft modernization program and overall engine integration.
The new engine “will result in higher fuel efficiency, reduced air refueling requirements, and significantly lower maintenance costs for the B-52 fleet,” Bineyard explained.
Overall, the F130 is expected to extend the fleet’s life by three decades.

The US Defense Department has released a selfie taken in the cockpit of a U-2 spy plane, as an airman flew above the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by the US military earlier this month.
The selfie, taken by the pilot of the U-2, shows the shadow of the aircraft on the balloon and a clear image of the balloon’s payload as it crossed across the continental United States. CNN first reported the existence of the selfie.
The balloon was first spotted by the US on January 28 and ultimately shot down by the US military off the coast of South Carolina after crossing the country.

A senior State Department official said earlier this month that fly-bys “revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations.”
Officials said they’d decided against shooting the balloon down over the US because of its size, fearing falling debris could hurt civilians or property on the ground. Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), later said the balloon was 200 feet tall with a payload that weighed a couple of thousand pounds.
Officials also maintained that the balloon was not capable of conducting significant intelligence collection, in part because the US took steps to protect against it immediately upon spotting it.
The U-2 is a single-seat, high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft with “glider-like characteristics,” according to the Air Force. Because the planes are regularly “flown at altitudes over 70,000 feet,” pilots “must wear a full pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts.”

The photo released on Wednesday clearly shows the pilot flying above the balloon, which was hovering 60,000 feet when it was spotted over Montana.
The selfie was captured a week after the balloon entered US airspace near Alaska, and NORAD sent up fighter jets to make a positive identification, according to defense officials.
Still, officials tracking the balloon saw little reason to be alarmed. At the time, according to US officials, the balloon was expected to sail over Alaska and continue on a northern trajectory that intelligence and military officials could track and study.
Instead, shortly after the balloon crossed over land, it alarmed officials by making its unexpected turn south.
Once it was over US territory, officials have argued that the benefits of gathering additional intelligence on the balloon far outweighed the risk of shooting it down over land.
The US sent up U-2 spy planes to track the balloon’s progress, according to US officials.
Recovery efforts began immediately after the balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4, and were concluded on February 17. Pieces of the debris were transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia to be studied further.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday that the payload of the balloon had been recovered.

“The heroism and valor he demonstrated for 35 harrowing minutes 70 years ago in the skies over the North Pacific and the coast of North Korea saved the lives of his fellow pilots, shipmates, and crew.” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cal.), who has previously advocated to have Williams receive the Medal of Honor for his action, in a statement on Jan. 13. “His story is one for the ages, but is now being fully told.”
On Nov. 18, 1952, Williams – flying his second mission of the day – took off from the USS Oriskany in a Grumman F95-5 Panther as part of a combat air patrol mission over the Sea of Japan, near the border with North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union.
“We started to rendezvous with each other as we climbed out of the clouds,” Williams told DOA last year, “And that’s when we heard from the combat information center that there were inbound bogeys from the north.”

Thousands of feet above Williams were the contrails of seven MiG-15s, one of the most advanced fighter jets in the sky at the time and one that outclassed Williams’ Panther in speed, maneuverability, climb rate, and the weapons range. After the other three Panthers in Williams’ formation flew away – reporting mechanical malfunctions with their planes or otherwise disengaging with the enemy after – he was left flying alone against Soviet jets. 
“In the moment, I was a fighter pilot doing my job,” Williams said “I was only shooting what I had.”
Climbing towards the Soviet jets, Williams fired at the last aircraft in the formation. He quickly found himself on the tail of a second jet and opened fire, bringing it down. With five Soviet jets remaining, Williams was now on the defensive, avoiding the diving attacks of the enemy jets and looking for chances where he could engage, all while keeping an eye on his fuel and ammunition levels. In more than 30 minutes of aerial combat, Williams shot down at least four MiGs, even though his own aircraft would eventually land with 263 holes in it. Nursing his plane back to the Navy task force, Williams considered bailing out, but told us, “I knew in that weather I wouldn’t have survived in the time it took to find me.” 

When he was debriefed, he was quickly made aware of the real implications of what he had just done. With the Cold War in full swing, he had shot down actual Soviet jets — and, unbeknownst to him during the flight, he had been directed towards them based on a classified intelligence collection program from the National Security Agency. The commander of Naval Forces Far East told him to never discuss the engagement with anyone, ever, and Williams was credited with a single confirmed kill while the rest were distributed among the other pilots who had avoided the engagement. 
While Williams proceeded along with his career — another 23 years that included 110 missions flown over Vietnam — the incident became a bit of Navy legend. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, records began to emerge confirming Williams’ accomplishment. 
Since then, an effort has been made to recognize Williams’ feat and award him the Medal of Honor. The Navy Cross is awarded for “extraordinary heroism or distinguished service in the line of his profession, such heroism or service not being sufficient to justify the award of a medal of honor or a distinguished service medal.”