People stopped what they were doing and looked skywards as a loud rumbling plane soared through the West Country. Eurofighters flew loops over Cheltenham and Gloucester shortly after 3pm on Tuesday (May 23) before heading north.
It is understood there were two jets flying as a pair, “Nightmare21 and Nightmare 22. They were seen flying low in what is a potential touch-and-go at Gloucestershire Airport in Staverton, reports Gloucestershire Live.
M5 drivers spotted the Eurofighter 2000 Typhoons as it appeared from the west of Gloucestershire near junction 10 for Cheltenham. Crews then looped down near to the A40 Golden Valley Bypass before their low approach over Staverton before doing another loop.
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You can see a video of two of the jets above, taken by Ross Ruck. He filmed them during low approach at Gloucestershire Airport before returning to base.
The Eurofighters had flown out of RAF Conningsby in Lincolnshire and then flew towards Norwich before heading east over Peterborough and then to Gloucestershire before heading to the Midlands. Their appearance comes ahead of the expected deployment of three USAF B1-B bombers to RAF Fairford, due in later this evening.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multirole fighter, which is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo. It is able to carry out several roles during a mission, shifting between air-to-air and air-to-surface roles.
Eurofighter Typhoon stats
- Made by: Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH has made more than 600 since 1994.
- Top speed: 1,550mph
- Powered by: two Eurojet EJ200 engines
- Armaments: laser guided bombs, Brimstone air to surface missiles, Sidewinder air to air missiles.
- Role: multi-role fighter used in the Middle East as well as intercepting Russian aircraft in British airspace.
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