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A comment on U-2 pilot's selfie above China's balloon taken over Missouri: How we know that. Parent comment

Re:U-2 pilot's selfie above China's balloon taken over Misso... by CoolGuySteve on Friday February 24, 2023 @07:56PM (#34932510)
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?

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Re:U-2 pilot's selfie above China's balloon taken over Misso... by jkaptur on Friday February 24, 2023 @08:04PM (#34932582)
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).

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Re:U-2 pilot's selfie above China's balloon taken over Misso... by JPKab on Friday February 24, 2023 @08:26PM (#34932780)
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.

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Re:U-2 pilot's selfie above China's balloon taken over Misso... by ChatGTP on Friday February 24, 2023 @08:14PM (#34932686)
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.

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Re:U-2 pilot's selfie above China's balloon taken over Misso... by walrus01 on Friday February 24, 2023 @08:23PM (#34932758)
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.

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