RAF jets on night training manoeuvres are thought to be behind a series of loud 'booms' heard across Nottinghamshire. Residents near Newark and Bingham are among those who reported hearing the noises of the fighter jets, believed to be Typhoons from RAF Coningsby.
The sounds were first heard on Tuesday night but may go on for three weeks as pilots sharpen their skills in preparation for any assigned missions around the world. Online commenters drew attention to the loud noises overhead shortly after 9.30pm. Although the exact number of craft is unclear, an eyewitness said there were "lots" of them.
Sam Taylor @SamTayl08920309 tweeted: ""Hey guys .. is it me or here or what??? I’m watching a movie in Newark UK and there’s jets .. lots of them .. but worrying .. unusual .. anyone else got jets booming in the sky above them ??"
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Other responded to the tweet, saying their animals were upset by the noise. It's unclear how long the sounds continued for.
Montycow (Ian Sharman )@Montycow1 replied: "They are very noisy practicing for something!! Making my muppet vislas bark." Another Twitter user, Michael Prendergast @MichaelJP1986 added: "It’s making our terrier bark."
The flights were mentioned on RAF Coningsby's Facebook page on March 25, as they said "night-flying training" would be taking place for three weeks. The post explained: "For the next three weeks, RAF Coningsby will be conducting night-flying training. This will be in addition to any necessary operational movements outside of normal hours."
Station Commander, Group Captain Matt Peterson said: “This is routine training that serves a number of necessary purposes. The Typhoon is a world-class multi-role aircraft that can accomplish a vast array of missions. However, maintaining competency across all these skillsets requires pilots, such as myself, to regularly practice. Operating Typhoon at night is challenging, but essential to ensure we are ready to defend our interests around the world at a moment’s notice.
"Whether it is undertaking Quick Reaction Alert in the UK, or deployed operations elsewhere in the world, we need to be ready to use the full range of the aircraft and its operators abilities, both day and night. As Station Commander at Coningsby I do know that we can be ‘noisy neighbours’; therefore, I am extremely grateful to the local community for their understanding and incredible support for all we do.”
The post added that routine training operations may take place from Monday to Thursday evenings, One tweeter shared a screengrab from FlightRadar, showing that around that time of Sam's query there was at least on RAF Typhoon in the sky. It appears to have been 'East of Newark, Osprey over Bottesford', according to him.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Ministry of Defence said on Saturday (March 26) that four Typhoons from Coningsby have been deployed to an air base on the Romanian Black Sea coast near the border with Ukraine.
The Typhoons will be supported by 150 RAF personnel who form the Headquarters of an Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW). According to the Ministry of Defence, the mission is a purely defensive operation and a permanent NATO mission which began in 1961 during the Cold War.
