Sonic boom rattles Swiss city as fighter jets conduct live exercise
Image credit: Richard Juilliart / Shutterstock.com
By Clara Bousfield
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Yesterday afternoon, residents of Lucerne in central Switzerland were left startled after two large bangs shook apartments across the city. The explosive noise was, in fact, caused by two Swiss fighter jets deployed on a live mission.
Swiss F/A-18 jets break sound barrier over Lucerne
Just before 3pm on Thursday, October 29, two F/A-18 jets flying over the canton of Lucerne broke the sound barrier while conducting a live mission, reports 20 Minuten.
The military planes travelled faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1), creating a sonic boom and two loud bangs in quick succession.
Residents were left wondering what was happening, with hundreds reporting the noises on Lauterknall.ch.
Swiss Air Force confirms live mission
The Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS) has confirmed that the jets were "checking a state aircraft" to make sure the diplomatic information matched up.
"There are around 200 such missions a year," explained a spokesperson, and "In these cases, it can happen that the aircraft breaks the sound barrier."
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Clara Bousfield
Editor at IamExpat Media