Watch as Chinook and new Apache Echo military helicopters are filmed flying low over Sheffield neighbourhood

The rare sight in the skies above the S12 area of the city, including Birley, was caught on film by Spencer Brady today, Monday, October 17. He was one of many people in the area who spotted a Chinook and two Apache helicopters flying past, with even more people hearing them roar by. One person commented that the aircraft were so low ‘it rattled our windows’, while parents spoke of their children’s thrill at seeing the helicopters in action.

The Chinook is a giant of the skies, which, according to the RAF’s website, is more than 30 metres long and capable of carrying up to 55 troops or around 10 tonnes of freight. It is mostly used to transport troops and supplies or to evacuate casualties from the battlefield. It is recognisable by the distinctive ‘thud’ of their twin rotor blades.

The Ministry of Defence recently bought 50 Apache Echo AH-64E aircraft from the US to replace the Apache Mk.1 and provide a ‘state-of-the-art attack aviation capability’, and it was some of these new helicopters which were flying over Sheffield alongside the Chinook.

Military: “This is what it was like to be in the RAF in the 1980s,” writes Sheffield Star community reporter

The MoD confirmed the aircraft were flying over the city as part of Exercise Talon Guardian, which is scheduled to take place from October 10 to October 28, between 8am and 4pm each day. It said the exercise involved three regiments of the Army Air Corps.

It is not the first time Chinooks have been spotted over Sheffield, with sightings reported on a number of occasions including in March last year.