From next Tuesday, the Austrian armed forces will train for ten days in supersonic intercept maneuvers with the Eurofighters. In that context, a sonic boom will be heard several times, the Ministry of Defense said on Sunday.
Two supersonic flights per day are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The pilots fly over almost the entire federal territory, with the exception of metropolitan areas and the entire federal states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg. The specific areas are determined together with civil air traffic control.
“This training is essential for our Air Force. The terrible war in Ukraine has made us realize how important reliable air protection is for a sovereign state. This must be practiced constantly, and this also in the supersonic range,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP). The supersonic speed starts at about 1200 kilometers per hour.
As a Eurofighter approaches this speed, shock waves are generated on the aircraft. These shock waves can be perceived on the ground as a sonic boom. The volume and intensity depend, among other things, on the flight altitude, the terrain structure and the weather conditions. To keep the noise level as low as possible, training will take place at a great height from Tuesday.
Rapid coordination required
The conditions cannot be displayed in the simulator. Another purpose of the training is to practice coordination between military pilots, radar traffic controllers and military and civil air traffic control. This must be done accurately and quickly.
Source: Krone
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