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So you’re just saying that one was once shot down as to why the U2 as a whole was an ineffective program?
The fact that they have never been put into mass production is a very clear indicator that it was an ineffective program.
Neither was the SR-71. Both programs had a very limited mission, which is why neither was ever produced in quantity.
Sure both were experimental, and the experiment with U2 was to make something fly so high that it couldn’t be intercepted. Turned out that the US underestimated the quality of the AD systems Soviets developed.
The purpose of the U2 was to make a plane that could never be intercepted for the rest of time? No, they saw a gap that the Soviets didn’t have protection for yet, so they exploded it. One the Soviets caught up and closed the gap, they went higher and faster with the SR71, then higher and faster with satellites. It’s always back and forth, and the U2 gave a valuable capability until a counter was developed.
The reality is that U2 was dead on arrival.
