Reconnaissance aircraft are most of the cases secret programs. Only years later the specifications of the aircraft go public. That's a thing for the US Army too, a nation that has produced some of the best of this kind. Of course, it's really hard to rank them, mainly because of their different 'age'. Let's see which are the five best though!
SR-71
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This aircraft was the worthy predecessor of the legendary SR-71
The legendary Blackbird is for sure one of the most known reconnaissance aircraft of history. It's built from Lockheed Martin and has performed more than 3,500 missions, 54,000 flight hours with most of them at speeds over Mach 3. In total more than 32 were built for the USAF and NASA.
U-2 “Dragon Lady”
Undoubtedly, the second most famous spy airplane is the U-2. The aircraft was built by Lockheed Martin, and it is referred to as the Blackbird's sibling. Most of the aircraft were operated from the Beale Air Base in California. Since 1957, the aircraft became the standard option for reconnaissance, intelligence and command missions.
MQ-1B Predator
The new generation: MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are unmanned aircraft with reconnaissance and attack capabilities. General Atomics equipped them with 6 air-to-ground ammunition. MQ-1B is operated by a pilot and a sensor operator.
Even if its range is limited, don't forget that we are actually talking about a reconnaissance drone that has strike capabilities!
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Γιατί κανένα αεροσκάφος δεν μπορούσε να πιάσει το SR-71 Blackbird
RQ-4 Global Hawk
The aircraft was built from Northrop Grumman, and it's a manned aircraft that serves in the Beael base in California (a few operate in Grand Forks of North Dakota).
Northrop RF-61 “Reporter”
Designed by Northrop at the limited number of only 36 units, the aircraft served effectively during the WWII and at the Korean War. During its usage, it proved important photographs like in Korea during 1950. It has a top speed of 700kmh with 2 pilots and with a range of 6.5km.
