U-2 High-Altitude Reconnaissance Aircraft, USA

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The U-2 aircraft, equipped with an ASARS-2 radar, can be identifiedby the longer nose cone, with two fairing bulges on the topcentreline surface in front of the cockpit. The Raytheon ASARS 2Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System is a high resolution dayand night all weather side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) for use athigh altitude.
The radar has two V-shaped planar arrays with electronicallyscanned antennas. The radar scans the ground on each side of theaircraft as the aircraft flies over the area of operations. Theradar can take pictures of the battlefield to a range of 162km.
ASARS 2 can operate in search and spot modes against moving andstationary targets. In moving target indicator mode, the view ofmoving targets is presented against a SAR background or acartographic background. Operation in spot mode against stationarytargets provides a higher degree of detail and finer targetdiscrimination. A recorder for the ASARS-2 is installed in theequipment bay forward of the main landing gear well. Data from theASARS 2 is downloaded via a real-time wideband data link to theTR-1 ground station, TRIGS-1, supplied by Lockheed Martin.
An upgraded Raytheon ASARS-2A radar has been developed which has anincrease in coverage, more capable spot mode and enhanced groundmoving target indicator, with a new onboard processor. The firstASARS-2A was delivered in August 2001.
Superpods are mounted on the wings at the hardpoints about 10ftfrom the fuselage. The pods house signals intelligence sensors andsystems. The equipment bays E-bay and Q-bay just forward of themain landing gear contain electronics systems and sensor equipment.Satellite communications links are installed in a dorsal pod.
Northrop Grumman has developed a new Airborne Signals IntelligencePayload (ASIP) for the USAF U-2 and Global Hawk UAV. Flight testingof the ASIP began on the U-2 in December 2007. ASIP is planned toenter service on the U-2 in 2008.
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