U-2 Spy Plane

The U-2 Spy Plane is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed by the United States. It was jointly developed by the 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

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, 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