Armed Forces: Supersonic training of the Austrian Air Force

2023-04-30 05:01:06

Austrian Eurofighter pilots train faster than sound

Vienna (OTS) – From May 2nd to May 12th, 2023, the Eurofighter pilots of the German Armed Forces will practice interception maneuvers in the supersonic range. Two supersonic flights are planned per day between 08:00 and 16:00.

“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 has to be practiced on an ongoing basis, including in the supersonic range,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.

Indispensable for functioning airspace surveillance

Flying with supersonic is an indispensable part of the training and education of our pilots and is essential for a functioning Austrian air surveillance. Safe flight operations must also be guaranteed for missions in the supersonic range, and flight safety also has top priority here. The pilots practice this under real physical stress, which 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 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.

Measures to reduce sound propagation

The Armed Forces are taking the following measures to reduce the propagation of noise near the ground:

– The acceleration phases of the Eurofighter are kept as short as possible.

– The sound distribution is continuously documented in order to reduce multiple sound reinforcements in the same room to a minimum.

– The metropolitan areas around the state capitals and the federal capital will be spared for supersonic flights. However, subsonic flights can be made over these areas at any time.

– There are no training flights at supersonic speeds between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. and on weekends and public holidays.

– The flights are completed over 12,500 meters altitude in order to minimize any sonic boom that occurs on the ground.

supersonic speed

The supersonic speed starts at approx. 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 (loud) intensity of the sonic boom depends, among other things, on the flight altitude, the terrain structure and the weather conditions.