Exercise Typhoon Warrior 21: Low flying military aircraft over Edinburgh, Fife, Lothians, and Falkirk

Residents across Fife, Edinburgh, and the Lothians have been warned to expect low-flying military aircraft, as a Ministry of Defence exercise gets underway.

A Chinook lands on Inchkeith during military exercises.

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Exercise Typhoon Warrior 21, will see UK and US jets and helicopters or chinooks, along with large transport planes take to the skies above the east of Scotland.

The dates highlighted by the MoD are August 17, 19, 24 and 26.

The exercise could bring loud noises and fast-moving aircraft in the skies above the east of Scotland.

In recent years, residents in the area have been woken by loud low-flying helicopters heading towards the Firth of Forth, with Inchkeith island featuring in some exercises involving ground troops.

The MoD says that it intends to hold activities for Typhoon Warrior 21 between 10am and midday, however, Civil Aviation Authority documents show that the exercise can take place between 8:30am and 2:15pm.

Typically Leuchars Army base in Fife, which still has an airfield from its previous use as an RAF base, features in some exercises. However, that doesn’t rule out other air bases from taking part.

Under the rules set out by the MoD, fixed-wing aircraft, like jets or large transport planes, fly as low as 250 feet routinely, but occasionally operate down to just 100 feet in some areas.

Helicopters routinely operate down to 100 feet, but may operate down to ground level for certain tasks.

During the current exercise, the US Air Force will take part, as well as a civilian contractor called Draken Aviation.

The Civil Aviation Authority says the public can expect a “large force exercise involving up to 60 military aircraft operating in mixed formations including fast jets, intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance

aircraft, air to air refuelling, and air mobility assets (both fixed wing and rotary wing).

"Exercise traffic will conduct air-to-air combat radar profiles, supersonic flight, radar and communications jamming, and air combat serials. Airspace control orders will be issued separately by the sponsor to all

control agencies.”

The areas listed as being affected by the exercise are: Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Durham, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, East Riding, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, Isle of Arran, Lincolnshire, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Outer Hebrides, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, South Yorkshire, Stirling, Tyne & Wear, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian, West Yorkshire

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