“Early morning flying is a critical muscle we must continue to flex:” The reason American fighter jets have been flying over Peterborough this week

Pilots have been carrying out training missions from RAF Lakenheath

Many Peterborough families will have been woken to the sounds of jet fighters flying over Peterborough over the last couple of days.

While some people enjoy hearing the sounds of the engines, others are not so keen, having sleep patterns disturbed, or just not liking the sound or presence of the jets.

The American air force planes are flying out of RAF Lakenheath.

A library picture of an F15 jet flying from RAF Lakenheath. Photo: VanderWolf Images - stock.adobe.complaceholder image
A library picture of an F15 jet flying from RAF Lakenheath. Photo: VanderWolf Images - stock.adobe.com

Today was the second of a two day training mission, with planes taking off, landing, and transitioning from RAF Lakenheath between 6:45 am to 6pm.

Operations like this provide both aircrew and support personnel stationed at RAF Lakenheath the experience needed to maintain a ready force capable of ensuring the collective defence of the NATO alliance.

Maj. Hope Cronin, 48th Fighter Wing spokesperson said: “The 48th Fighter Wing must train like we fight in order to maintain operational readiness, and early morning flying is a critical muscle we must continue to flex.

“We understand the disturbance this may cause to our local communities and appreciate the patience and understanding as we ensure our Airmen remain trained and ready to secure the sovereign skies anytime, day or night”

All training will be conducted in accordance with Ministry of Defense and U.K. airspace regulations.

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