[CoolGuySteve]

It's an interesting plane to use when considering the USSR shot down a U-2 in 1960. This history even rhymes: the US initially claimed the U-2 was a weather device like China did with this balloon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident

If the Chinese say they can fly their balloons, can we fly our planes at the same altitude?

[jkaptur]

The Chinese shot down a number of U2s as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_Squadron

You can see one of them at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, but it's in pretty rough shape (understandably).

[JPKab]

Fascinating.

The intel gathered from these likely helped send Nixon to China by revealing the Sino-Soviet tensions due to the military buildup at the border.

[ChatGTP]

That photo of the missiles coming for the pilots planes are incredible and terrifying.

You'd have to have some pretty good nerves for that job.

[walrus01]

The history of the U-2 is actually pretty wild, they flew out of Peshawar Pakistan with full cooperation of the Pakistani military for a long time.

Later on, the famous Chuck Yeager was the US military representative in Pakistan.