Direct proof of use
U.S. Air Force U-2R and TR-1 aircraft were deployed to Taif, Saudi Arabia, with the 1704th Reconnaissance Squadron (Provisional) during the 1990 Gulf War. The U-2 history chapter on Desert Storm says the deployed force ultimately reached six U-2s, six TR-1s, 253 personnel, and 30 pilots, making the campaign the largest U-2 operation up to that point.
When Operation Desert Storm began on 17 January 1991 local time, U-2 authority changed to emergency reconnaissance operations and the aircraft gained approval to cross into Iraq. Major B. L. Bachus flew the first U-2 border-crossing mission into Iraq that morning in a SYERS-equipped aircraft.
Sources: The U-2 in Desert Storm, DVIDS U-2 in Desert Storm
Timeline
During Desert Shield, before the air campaign began, U-2 sorties watched for Iraqi movement toward Saudi Arabia and collected imagery on possible future targets. By late December 1990, exercises linked ASARS and SYERS collection to rapid target-coordinate reporting for strike aircraft.
After 17 January 1991, the U-2 initially flew bomb-damage-assessment sorties, then moved quickly into Scud-launcher searches. ASARS-equipped missions passed near-real-time data to ground exploitation vans; when interpreters identified likely launchers or targets, strike aircraft could be called against them.
In February 1991, a second Senior Blade exploitation van at King Khalid Military City expanded SYERS coverage of southern Iraq and supported dynamic retasking. On 27 February, during the ground war, Captain Dan Sanders used U-2 sensors to help locate Iraqi troop movements west of Basra and relay information used by coalition forces.
Sources: The U-2 in Desert Storm
Narrative
The Gulf War marked the U-2's shift from strategic reconnaissance into a heavily tasked tactical reconnaissance role. Its sensors were used for broad-area imagery, near-real-time radar and electro-optical collection, Scud-search support, target-of-opportunity reporting, and post-strike assessment.
The U-2 history describes frequent route changes, dynamic in-flight retasking, and direct support to strike decisions. Examples include a U-2 finding a suspected fixed Scud site at Qasr Amij in western Iraq that was later attacked, ASARS data helping redirect B-52s toward a suspected ammunition storage area, and SYERS coverage being used after Iraq released oil into the Persian Gulf.
The deployed sortie rate was high for the aircraft type. The 1704th Reconnaissance Squadron flew 284 Desert Shield sorties and 260 Desert Storm sorties, and the history estimates that U-2 collection provided roughly half of imagery intelligence and about 30 percent of total intelligence for the war. A 9th Reconnaissance Wing DVIDS video similarly summarizes the U-2 as flying more than 2,000 hours of reconnaissance missions during Desert Storm.
Sources: The U-2 in Desert Storm, DVIDS U-2 in Desert Storm, U-2S/TU-2S fact sheet
