The U-2 Spy Plane is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed by the [[United States]]. It was jointly developed by the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and the Air Force under cover by the [[Lockheed Aircraft Company]]. The U-2 was capable of flying and gliding for almost eleven hours at heights greater than 65,000 feet, covering more than five thousand miles, while utilizing only one thousand gallons of fuel. Special lenses, cameras, and thin film were developed for it, enabling the spy plane to photograph a path from [[Moscow]] to [[Tashkent]] in one take.[^1] The U-2 went operational from a secret base in West [[Germany]] on July 4, 1956, with initial targets including Soviet long-range bomber bases and [[Leningrad]]. Its intelligence gathering was crucial for locating and photographing the industrial elements of the Soviet nuclear program, including reactors, heavy-water-production facilities, and uranium- and plutonium-processing plants.[^1] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] and his administration were infuriated by [[Israel]]'s attempt to mask its military buildup prior to the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]], and the U-2 was used to monitor sensitive areas, including the [[Middle East]]. In 1958, U-2 flights observed significant activity at an Israeli Air Force practice bombing range south of [[Beersheba]], which turned out to be the early signs of the [[Dimona]] nuclear reactor.[^1] Despite the clear evidence of the secret nuclear reactor at [[Dimona]], [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] showed no interest in a follow-up investigation, a decision that puzzled intelligence officials like [[Arthur C. Lundahl]] and [[Dino A. Brugioni]]. The U-2 continued to overfly the [[Negev]] desert, and by the end of 1959, Lundahl and Brugioni had no doubt that [[Israel]] was pursuing nuclear weapons, and that the Eisenhower administration was determined to look the other way.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.