Rare government spy plane spotted flying over Bay Area 49ers game

Lockheed Martin’s famed U-2 aircraft, also known as the “Dragon Lady,” made a rare appearance and performed a flyover at the 49ers game Monday in Santa Clara County, a Beale Air Force Base spokesperson confirmed to SFGATE on Tuesday. In 2024, the same aircraft flew over the final A’s game in Oakland while former pitcher Barry Zito sang the national anthem, drawing cheers from the crowd. 

Read more For 900 miles, ocean swimmer Catherine Breed reckoned with El Niño

USAF U-2 as PINON52 this evening
Go @49ers ! https://t.co/UMHNlJQA8G

— SF Jet Spotter (@SFJET147) October 20, 2026

The elite spy plane, which was built in total secrecy by Lockheed Skunk Works, first took flight in 1955 during Cold War tensions and remains an enduring symbol of U.S. intelligence operations more than 70 years later. 

Able to fly over 400 mph at an altitude of more than 70,000 feet, the unique surveillance plane has a long range of over 7,000 miles and is capable of remaining in the air 24 hours a day during rain or shine. A camera attached to the belly of the aircraft, which gathers images for U.S. intelligence officials, secretly photographed the Soviet Union’s nuclear test sites in Cuba, launching the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and was more recently used for operations in Korea, the Balkans and the Middle East. It’s also been used to detect signs of nuclear weapons testing, as well as provide disaster relief during fires, floods and earthquakes. 

Read more Bay Area elementary school dethroned as the best in the state

According to the U.S. Air Force, the country’s fleet of U-2s is currently stationed at the Beale Air Force Base in California, where pilots are trained before embarking on critical missions.