About: List of United States Air Force reconnaissance aircraft

This is a list of aircraft used by the United States Air Force and its predecessor organizations for combat aerial reconnaissance and aerial mapping. The first aircraft acquired by the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps were not fighters or bombers, they were reconnaissance aircraft. From the first days of World War I, the airplane demonstrated its ability to be the "eyes of the army." Technology has improved greatly over the almost century since the first reconnaissance aircraft used during World War I. Today reconnaissance aircraft incorporate stealth technology; the newest models are piloted remotely. The mission of reconnaissance pilots remains the same, however.