The Austrian Armed Forces will train for ten days with the Eurofighter intercept maneuvers in the supersonic range starting Tuesday. A sonic boom will therefore be heard several times, the Ministry of Defense announced today. The training runs until May 12th. Two supersonic flights are planned per day from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“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 flights cover almost the entire federal territory, with the exception of metropolitan areas and the federal states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg. The flight areas are determined in cooperation with civil air traffic control. In order to keep the noise level as low as possible, we fly at high altitudes.
Supersonic speed starts at 1,200 km/h
According to the Bundesheer, flying at supersonic speed is an indispensable part of the training and education of pilots and is essential for a functioning Austrian air surveillance system.
The pilots train dss under real physical stress that cannot be represented in the simulator. The close and extremely time-critical coordination between military pilots, radar controllers and military and civil air traffic control is also an essential purpose of the training.
The supersonic speed starts at around 1,200 km/h. If a Eurofighter approaches this speed, shock waves occur on the aircraft. These shock waves can be perceived on the ground as a sonic boom. The volume and intensity of the sonic boom depend, among other things, on the flight altitude, the terrain structure and the weather conditions.
