LOCKHEED GARNERS TROPHY.Byline: Daily News Lockheed Martin Skunk skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. Works has picked up its fourth Collier Trophy, the most prized aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau honor in the United States, for its U-2S/ER-2 - a larger, modernized version of a venerable Cold War spy plane. The National Aeronautics Association The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the United States. The National Aeronautic Association is the oldest national aviation organization in the United States. recognized Lockheed Martin and partners General Electric, NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , the Air Force Air Combat Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency Noun 1. Defense Intelligence Agency - an intelligence agency of the United States in the Department of Defense; is responsible for providing intelligence in support of military planning and operations and weapons acquisition DIA for ``designing, manufacturing and operating the U-2S/ER-2 high altitude, all-weather, multifunctional data collection aircraft, which serves as America's `Sentinel of Peace' around the world.'' ``Although the U-2 program has been in existence for a long time, this new version will substantially enhance the mission capabilities, performance and safety of this high-altitude craft well into the 21st century,'' said association President Don Koranda. Established in 1911 by the nation's oldest aviation organization, the Robert J. Collier Trophy is presented annually for the greatest achievement during the previous year in aeronautics and astronautics. The trophy is on permanent display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., United States, and is the most popular of the Smithsonian museums. It maintains the largest collection of aircraft and spacecraft in the world. in Washington, D.C. This marks the fourth Collier Trophy win for the Skunk Works. Previous Colliers were awarded for the F-104 Starfighter (1958); the A-11 (1963), and the F-117A Stealth Fighter. Able to fly more than 6,000 miles at altitudes above 70,000 feet, the present U-2S is about 40 percent larger than the U-2A that first flew in 1955 and in which Francis Gary Powers was shot down in 1960 over the Soviet Union. Lockheed Martin in October finished equipping the 37 U-2S/ER-2 aircraft with a lighter high-efficiency jet engine, an improved electrical system and a digital autopilot. In 1998, U.S. Air Force U-2S high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and the NASA version, the ER-2, claimed four altitude and payload records. Three of the records were previously held by aircraft from the Soviet union and the fourth is a new record. The aircraft were not specially prepared planes, but standard versions conducting routine flights out of Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. and U.S. Air Force Plant 42. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO The Lockheed Martin U-2S high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft is America's ``sentinel of peace.'' |
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