Huge Saudi military plane VC-130H Hercules soars over Sheffield ahead of RAF Exercise Cobra Warrior

The flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed a Lockheed VC-130H Hercules flying above the city at around 11.30pm yesterday, Monday, February 27. It was listed as a ‘Saudi Arabia – Royal Flight’ which had taken off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire at 11.07pm.

Flightradar24 showed the military transport aircraft passing to the north of Sheffield city centre, over areas including Attercliffe, Parkwood Springs, Walkley and Rivelin Valley, before turning and heading south over the Peak District.

The plane was in the area as part of the RAF’s Exercise Cobra Warrior, which, according to Lincolnshire County Council, began on February 27 and is due to run until Friday, April 6. Aircraft from several nations are reportedly taking part in the operation, which is based out of RAF Waddington but is understood to also involve nearby RAF Coningsby.

Reports elsewhere suggest that air forces from Italy, Finland, Belgium and Saudi Arabia are among those involved in the military training exercise, which will see the RAF work closely with its counterparts from other nations.

Exercise Cobra Warrior is a biannual operation which last ran out of RAF Waddington during September 2022, when it involved the Italian, German and US air forces. According to the RAF, the operation is designed to ‘exercise participants in high intensity large force tactical training’.

It has been described by those taking part as the ‘most important’ exercise the RAF runs in the UK, enabling it to work with ‘key NATO allies’ as participant practise the ‘highly complex skills’ which could be required for real in future as part of coalition.

A post on the RAF Coningsby Spotters Group on Facebook states that up to six Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoons were expected to arrive at the air field on February 27.

It said the ‘live weapons action’ would take place over the sea in a ‘temporary danger area’ off the coast between Edinburgh and Newcastle, with the rest of the low-flying manoeuvres taking place across most of the UK excluding Greater London and a handful of other areas.

An RAF spokesperson said the aircraft was part of the deployment of Royal Saudi Air Force equipment and personnel to Coningsby for Exercise Cobra Warrior but was not part of the exercise, which they said had yet to start. “The exercise starts later on this week and will operate across large areas of the UK overland and oversea and will involve a variety of allies and friendly nation participants. It will not be focussing on South Yorkshire,” they added.

It is not the first large plane to have been spotted in the skies above Sheffield. The giant BelugaXL 'flying whale' aircraft is regularly seen flying overhead, while last year a

Chinook and Apache Echo military helicopters were filmed flying low over Sheffield neighbourhood.