Few aircraft are as long-serving as Lockheed Martin's venerable U-2 spyplane. First flown in the 1950s, it served well in the Cold War and has been upgraded ever since, a high-altitude surveillance vehicle. Yesterday, Lockheed released a loving tribute to the uncomfortably nicknamed Dragon Lady. It's as warm and affectionate as a defense contractor can possibly be about a flying camera:

Despite the obvious motherly love towards the old U-2, and no matter how many times it's been upgraded, eventually all airframes have to retire, and Lockheed is looking ahead to their next spyplane. The plane has been in the works for a while, and Lockheed has separately emphasized both its ability to fly unmanned like a drone or have a human in a cockpit, like an old-school U-2. At a media briefing last month, Lockheed released both an artist's concept of the new plane, and a revealing designation: TR-X, for "tactical reconnaissance", instead of the vague "U" for utility.