Helicopter gunships overhead Inverness area

Not sure what’s happening but over the last 24 hrs I’ve had a couple of Apache gunships lingering around my house, and then just now a couple of pave low type choppers swoop across too. I think there was one earlier too but I couldn’t be sure from behind. They all have some sort of pod underneath and an arm thing sticking out to the right

I’m not far from fort George but I’m not sure they are going there.

Anyone else seen them?

They are impressively loud

Zombie outbreak and you’re now in a government containment area?

Am sure I heard something about an exercise with choppers on moray firth radio. Wasn’t paying much attention tho

There’s a few Canadian aircraft around this week, so I’d assume a joint exercise ongoing.

The transports did look non UK forces, so that is a possibility

You’ll find they’re unarmed, so you can just call them ships!

I’m as about as close as you can get to Sandwood Bay and be under a roof right now, and there are a few signs up saying that the Parph range will be in use now.  There is an exercise on.

You’ll find they’re unarmed, so you can just call them ships

Ships? you mean those white fluffy buggers with legs you see on the hills?

Two apaches flew over north Bolton at the weekend as well

Big exercise going on at the moment.

They’ve been buzzing around Stirling and Fife the last few days, and refuelling at Balado airfield.

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Yep, the transports I saw were Def nh90s, I just googled to check after seeing Stirling Crispin’s link. They were different colour, either woodland camo or plain olive, can’t remember

I had one jump out at me about twenty years ago, I was riding at Swinley, right up at the boundary of whatever that army land is next to it. I could hear a helicopter pretty loud and then it came up out of an old quarry or something to just above the trees in front of me. They look pretty intimidating close up! Not entirely sure I should have been that close TBH…

Have you paid your TV licence? Better check.

I drive past Balado daily. There were here earlier in the year and are back now. I saw them hovering yesterday as I drove past. Earlier in the year there were multiple Apaches, and we have had Chinooks buzzing the house at low altitude in the middle of the night. Noisy, vibrating neighbours…

So that’s what few over the house this evening. I wasn’t able to spot them out the window but…..Noisey!

I’m currently up in Brora and have seen them about too this afternoon/evening

Chinooks are going back and forth daily over North London for the last few days.

We just had a low(ish) flypast by a Chinook just before 23:00 in east Shrops – they’re not often around in the hours of darkness.

(the other helicopter there is one of the local EC35s from Shawbury, also not often allowed out to play at night)

The Chinook first appeared on adsbexchange near Hull, flew north-westwards about as far as the northern Pennines, then came down the western side of the country before heading for Worcester and is currently just past Cheltenham.

Clearly it’s not part of the exercise in Scotland on RM’s screenshot up there ^ earlier, but this suggests there’s more going on than just that.

The Russians have triggered Nessie.

There’s also an exercise with the elements of the Chinook force, they’ve been training with the US 160th lot.

It’s been all over the RAF socials.

You’ll find they’re unarmed, so you can just call them ships

I think you will find that even the drivers call them a gunship.

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/zm729#37066d78

And

Big increase in military flights

you can just call them ships

I’d have def opened this sooner if it said “ships overhead”

They are a daily occurrence here, their mothership is up the road in Wattisham.

There were a couple of Chinooks over the Tweed Valley today, heading south about 0900 and heading north about 1645.

Saw them more clearly in the afternoon, two of them, both with large poles of some sort sticking out the front. (Bowsprits if we just calling them ships?) I wonder what they are? No doubt Google will tell me but someone here will almost certainly know a lot more detail

Ah, the ‘bowsprits’ are for air-air refuelling.  Obviously very long as the rotors means they can’t get very close to the tanker.

Ah, the ‘bowsprits’ are for air-air refuelling.  Obviously very long as the rotors means they can’t get very close to the tanker.

The tankers trail a long tube with a drogue ’chute on the end, which enables the chopper to access the fuel supply more easily than with the likes of the tankers the Americans use, which have a long extending rigid tube which sits into a socket on the top of receiving aircraft.
I think they have auxiliary tanks with drogue tubes on the wings for choppers to refuel, the big Sea Stallion choppers the Navy and Marines have a long refuelling probe fitted.

Just had a look at ADS-B, and it’s very quiet at the moment, the only thing flying with a transponder showing is an A400, ‘RRR4311’, inbound from Aeroporti të Prishtinës “Adem Jashari” at Vrelle in Kosovo; it’s just flown over the Cotswold Water Park and looped back over Fairford, heading back to Brize, on it’s final approach, judging by the altitude dropping rapidly!

There were a couple of Chinooks over the Tweed Valley today, heading south about 0900 and heading north about 1645.

That’ll most likely be the 160th Special Operations Regiment aircraft that are here training.

https://x.com/US_SOCEUR/status/1833439297526988989

Surprisingly hard to photo even with the noise giving away their position.

Here’s one squashed on a window

Here’s another one. Harder to spot, it’s a tiny one buzzing around in the bush:

I’ve blurred my dudes face, not to protect his ID but because he’s rats and will put you off your breakfast.

When the Apache is skulking about it looks like an easy target if you are that way inclined.

Have they got some sort of protection/armour? Or jamming kit?

When the Apache is skulking about it looks like an easy target if you are that way inclined.

Have they got some sort of protection/armour? Or jamming kit?

Asking for a friend are you 😉

Have they got some sort of protection/armour? Or jamming kit?

Not today Vald. 😉

Quite a bit of info that’s all open source about the AH in terms of survivability/countermeasures on the tinterwebs.

Have they got some sort of protection/armour? Or jamming kit?

Do you live in Colchester and have got annoyed with the ones doing laps over the town at night.

I assume solely to annoy the garrison there.

The tankers trail a long tube with a drogue ’chute on the end, which enables the chopper to access the fuel supply more easily than with the likes of the tankers the Americans use, which have a long extending rigid tube which sits into a socket on the top of receiving aircraft.

I think it’s only really the USAF that uses flying booms for in-air refuelling, the USN and USMC use drogue style refuelling. IIRC one reason the USAF use the flying boom method is that it has a higher transfer rate for fuel, something that is relevant when refuelling big strategic bombers and transport planes, and which is less of an issue for most other air forces.

kormoranFree Member
When the Apache is skulking about it looks like an easy target if you are that way inclined.

What makes you think that they haven’t already seen you and taken appropriate measures (in a training manner of course)? 😉

There are many different defensive, and offensive, aids on board. Lots of it already known about as mentioned above

When the Apache is skulking about it looks like an easy target if you are that way inclined

Is it not more a case of ‘you’d better make that one shot count’, because they’ll sure as sh*t not miss you back.