Why the Air Force wants to keep Global Hawks and retire U-2s

The cost of flying the Global Hawk reconnaissance drone has dropped to the point where Air Force leaders want to replace the venerable U-2, but the new drone still has years to go before it will match the Dragon Lady’s spy abilities, officials said.

For the past few years, the Air Force had pressed to cut the massive drone and keep the U-2 flying, with Congress repeatedly forcing the service to keep the drones flying.

That all changed with the fiscal 2015 budget request released Tuesday.

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