Surveillance

The Cold War Spy Plane Fighting ISIS

The U.S. Air Force has quietly offered a rare glimpse of one of the more secretive warplanes involved in the war on ISIS.

On Aug. 6, Air Forces Central Command—the flying branch’s headquarters overseeing operations in the Middle East—released a video of a black-painted U-2 spy plane taking off and landing at what the command described as an “undisclosed location” on July 14.

The iconic spy plane’s mission, according to command, was to “support of Operation Inherent Resolve,” America’s campaign against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria.

That undisclosed location is almost certainly Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates, where since at least 2002 the U.S. Air Force has stationed some of its most powerful aircraft for missions over Afghanistan and the Middle East. Commercial satellite imagery has confirmed the U-2’s presence at Al Dhafra. In 2005, a U-2 crashed at the sprawling Emirati base while landing after a spy flight over Afghanistan. Tragically, the pilot died.