What's behind it

Eurofighter pilots fly supersonic again

The Austrian Armed Forces have planned supersonic training again from Monday. The pilots will fly over seven federal states twice a day until November 15. Tyrol and Vorarlberg as well as the metropolitan areas are excluded.

This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in a press release on Saturday. The exact flight areas will be determined together with civil air traffic control. In order to keep the noise level as low as possible, flights will be conducted at high altitudes (12,500 meters). The supersonic training for the Eurofighter pilots is scheduled from November 4 to 15 between 8 am and 4 pm. Two flights are planned per day, with the exception of lunchtime (12 noon to 1 p.m.) and the weekend.

"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 practised on an ongoing basis, including in the supersonic range," said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) in a press release.

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.

Verteidigungsministerin Klaudia Tanner

Not everything can be simulated
The supersonic speed starts at around 1200 km/h. If a Eurofighter approaches this speed, shock waves are generated on the aircraft, which can be perceived on the ground as a sonic boom.

According to the Austrian Armed Forces, the purpose of the training is to practice under "real physical stress", which could not be simulated in the simulator. It is about time-critical coordination between military pilots, radar control officers and military and civilian air traffic control, for example.

According to the Austrian Armed Forces website, Austria has 15 Eurofighter pilots. They monitor the airspace, identify intruding aircraft and force them to land if necessary.