NATO Commander: US Should Bring Back U-2 Spy Planes to Target Russia

Says Russia a 'Long-Term Existential Threat' to US

US General Philip Breedlove, the outgoing Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, is calling for the US to bring back U-2 spy planes to Europe to conduct increased surveillance of the Russian military, insisting NATO needs more intelligence collection against them.

High-flying U-2 planes were a major component of US surveillance of Soviet territory through much of the Cold War. However, in recent years the U-2 has largely been supplanted by the use of satellites for reconnaissance, and the planes have been scheduled for retirement for a decade now.

Gen. Breedlove, who has been pushing for an ever-increasing US military presence in Europe to target Russia, argued that Russia poses a “long-term existential threat” to the United States, and that more surveillance of the nation is needed.

Experts indicate that even if the U-2s are sent to Europe, they almost certainly will not overfly Russian territory, but will instead climb to a high operating altitude within NATO airspace and surveil Russian border areas.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.