Why does the US still use U2s if reconnaissance satellites can do the same job?

Speed of light. They often have in-theater ground Intel stations but all that digital data gets to the people that need it as fast as the military data network can transfer it over secure comms, including military satellite data networks. Analog film processing takes hours but there is less of that these days as digital image sensors reach parity with film resolution.

End users like a battalion commander in active combat can't access Top Secret - Special Compartmented Information raw asset data directly so it all has to be processed/analyzed. Certain data requires less processing than others (such as real time enemy troop locations). Obviously, this time is highly classified but it is probably safe to say no one else can do it faster.

/r/WarCollege Thread Parent