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This Thursday February 13 marks the end of the latest round of supersonic training flights by the Spanish air force out of Albacete Air Base, which have caused several loud sonic booms that can be heard across Murcia, southern Alicante and eastern Almería.

 

A sonic boom is a loud bang that sounds similar to an explosion or a clap of thunder, and is caused when the military aircraft break the sound barrier.

 

The Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) at Albacete Air Base regularly perform these training exercises, which also include ground manouevres further inland, but always try to schedule the supersonic flights over Murcia and the coast at limited times that will cause the least disruption and alarm among the general population.

 

This time around, they made sure the flights were only conducted on weekdays between the hours of 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

 

They also make sure to communicate these times in advance so people are aware of them and don't flood the emergency services with calls about bombs and explosions.

 

 

The team at Albacete Air Base has already revealed what dates it is likely to be carrying out the next round of military drills, to allow people to be prepared – and to get their dogs prepared too!

 

According to the official TLP calendar, the next round of Flying Courses are not due to start until mid-September, specifically from Thursday September 11 to Friday October 3.

 

After that, there will be another flight training period from Thursday November 6 until Friday November 28.

 

However, for both the September and November dates, it is unlikely that supersonic flights will happen on every day of the training exercises.

 

The precise times and dates for when we can expect to hear more sonic booms will be released closer to the time.

 

Image: TLP