{"id":32651,"date":"2017-12-08T15:32:42","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T15:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/08\/one-u-2-squadron-wants-to-be-the-silicon-valley-of-the-air-force\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:48:21","slug":"one-u-2-squadron-wants-to-be-the-silicon-valley-of-the-air-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/it-networks\/2017\/12\/08\/one-u-2-squadron-wants-to-be-the-silicon-valley-of-the-air-force\/","title":{"rendered":"One U-2 squadron wants to be the Silicon Valley of the Air Force"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. \u2014 The U-2 is one of the Air Force\u2019s oldest aircraft, having been flown since the 1950s, but Beale Air Force Base\u2019s 99th Reconnaissance Squadron isn\u2019t waiting for the Pentagon to improve the venerable spy plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the squadron\u2019s pilots, maintainers and mission planners have taken procurement into their own hands, and regularly chat with Silicon Valley companies about new commercial technologies that can make them more informed and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U-2 pilots at Beale may still be operating an aircraft designed more than 60 years ago \u2014 one that flies so high that pilots still wear pressurized space suits \u2014 but now they also wear Garmin watches and bring tablets into the cockpit with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The combat system officers responsible for mission planning, navigation and sensor preparation \u2014 all challenging tasks due to the rapidly changing battlefield and the sophistication of the U-2\u2019s sensors \u2014 will soon have new state-of-the-art computers to help synthesize data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gear and more was purchased by the squadron itself for about $3.3 million, and the 99th is working with leading technology firms to test out other products that could improve operations. All of this with little supervision from the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201d[Air Force Chief of Staff] Gen. [David] Goldfein has told me as a commander to get ready for the fight. I cannot succeed at the mission that he\u2019s laid out for me if I wait on the Air Force to give me the answers,\u201d Lt. Col. Matt Nussbaum, commander of the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, told Defense News in a Nov. 30 interview at Beale AFB in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\t