President Eisenhower approved the development of the U-2 …

History1950sUnited Stateshigh confidence

President Eisenhower approved the development of the U-2 spy plane on November 25, 1954.

Notes on verification

Confirmed by CIA's own official history (Pedlow and Welzenbach) and corroborated by NSA and other declassified sources placing approval on Nov 24-25, 1954, with Nov 25 commonly cited as the specific date.

Sources

10 Fascinating CIA Missions - CIA (cia.gov)
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/the-u-2s-first-cheat-sheet/ (airandspaceforces.com)
https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/u2-history.pdf (nsa.gov)

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