People in west Wales have been left looking up into the sky at the “alarming” sight of US fighter jets flying overhead late at night and at low altitude. Communities in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire were left shocked on Monday night due to level of noise coming from the low-flying aircraft.
Hearing speeding aircraft is nothing new if you live in west Wales, but Monday night’s activity startled many due to the number of aircraft, the height they were flying at, and the fact the exercise took place at night. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the aircraft did not belong to them, but rather the US military who were carrying out “routine night flying training”. It’s understood the aircraft were F35-A fighter jets based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
Despite being an RAF station, Lakenheath is currently home to US Air Force aircraft and military personnel. Monday night’s activity certainly took people by surprise, with one woman commenting on social media that she had “never seen that many (jets) in the evening”. Another person said the noise of the fighter jets was “very loud in Carmarthen”, while one woman said she saw four of them flying in a figure of eight and that the noise generated was “immense”. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.
One man said: “The number of aircraft tonight and their complex manoeuvres were quite alarming, especially in the dark.” Another man posted on Facebook: “So many fighter planes tonight, never seen anything like it, nearly deaf.” Meanwhile, the BBC’s Aled Scourfield posted on X from Pembrokeshire to say: “Some very noisy training being conducted by jets over west Wales tonight. Sounds like Top Gun are practising their dogfighting skills!”
Some have raised concerns about the training drill and the potential impact it had on residents and wildlife across the region. Mid and West Wales MS Cefin Campbell said: “The volume and duration of the noise was far beyond what we normally experience. People reported hearing loud aircraft multiple times over a 15–20-minute period, which created significant disturbance and confusion.
“This was not just an isolated incident. The disturbance stretched across a broad area, far beyond the normal flight paths we’re used to. We need to understand why this occurred and ensure that residents are informed in advance if similar events are planned. While I understand the need for training exercises, we must ensure they do not cause unnecessary distress to our communities.”
Seeing US fighter jets above our skies in Wales is not a rare sight for many, as aircraft regularly use what’s known as the ‘Mach Loop’, a set of valleys near Machynlleth in Powys which are used for low-level flight training, with jets flying as low as 250 feet from the ground. You can read much more about that here.
The US Embassy has been asked to comment on the scale of Monday night’s operation, how many jets were involved and if similar training events are due to take place above the same areas again in the near future.
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