Faster than sound

Eurofighter pilots train for emergencies

(Bild: APA/AFP/Axel Heimken)

It can get loud again! Because the Austrian Armed Forces are training in the airspace for emergencies. 

"This training is essential for our air force. The terrible war in Ukraine has made us acutely aware of how important reliable protection from the air is for a sovereign state. This must be practiced on an ongoing basis, including in the supersonic range," says Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner.

And so the training of the Austrian Armed Forces' Eurofighter pilots will take place from November 4 to 15. Interception maneuvers in the supersonic range will be practiced. Two supersonic flights are planned each day between 8 am and 4 pm.

Safe flight operations
Safe flight operations must also be guaranteed during operations in the supersonic range and flight safety is also a top priority here. The pilots train this under real physical stress, which cannot be simulated in the simulator. The close and extremely time-critical coordination between military pilots, radar control officers and military and civilian air traffic control is also a key purpose of the training.

Flights are conducted over almost the entire federal territory - not in conurbations or 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, flights are flown at high altitudes.

Supersonic speed

The supersonic speed starts at approx. 1,200 km/h. If a Eurofighter approaches this speed, shock waves are generated on the aircraft. These shock waves can be heard on the ground as a sonic boom. The (loud) strength of the sonic boom depends on the flight altitude, the terrain structure and the weather conditions, among other things.

The Austrian Armed Forces also take measures to reduce the propagation of sound close to the ground:

• The acceleration phases of the Eurofighter are kept as short as possible.
• The sound distribution is documented on an ongoing basis in order to minimize multiple exposure to the same areas.
• The conurbations around the state capitals and the federal capital are not used for supersonic flights. However, flights in the subsonic range can take place over these areas at any time.
• No training flights at supersonic speed will take place between 12:00 and 13:00 or on weekends or public holidays.
• The flights are performed above an altitude of 12,500 metres in order to minimize any sonic boom on the ground.