Reconnaissance aircraft

A reconnaissance aircraft, as the name implies, is an aircraft designed to carry out military reconnaissance. Aircraft were first used militarily in this role, and the majority of World War I aircraft were in fact reconnaissance designs. However for the majority of the century aerial reconnaissance was carried out by versions of standard fighters and bombers equipped with cameras, and few decidated reconnaissance designs existed. This changed during the Cold War, when the United States dedicted resources to the development of several dedicated reconnaissance designs, including the U-2 and famous SR-71. Today the strategic role has past over mostly to satellites, and the tactical role to UAVs.