​Over the past few days, residents have reported hearing Chinooks, sonic booms and police helicopters above their homes in a noticeable increase in aerial activity. Chinooks were reported flying over parts of the county, including Hereford and Leominster, in the early hours of March 5, while a “really loud bang”, believed to have been a sonic boom, was heard in Hereford at 3.45am. Chinooks are heavy‑lift helicopters used by the military for various roles, including troop transport, cargo movement and humanitarian missions. They are commonly seen over Herefordshire, with people often taking to social media to share photos. What are your thoughts? You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here. Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence. A Police Helicopter was also heard late Tuesday (March 3) night. It was later confirmed by police that the helicopter was flying over the Belmont area due to an 18 year old failing to stop. He was then arrested on suspicion of failing to stop, being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug, possession of a class B and C drug, possession of a firearm and driving whilst under the influence of drugs. Chinooks have been heard over Herefordshire (Image: PAUL OAKLAND/CAMERA CLUB) There is every possibility that we could hear more noise in the skies. While it is not confirmed that the increase is related, the Royal Air Force has this week launched a two‑week exercise, raising the likelihood of continued night‑time disturbances. This inevitably highlights the possibility that more disrupted sleep could be on the way for the city. The RAF said Exercise Agile Warrior 26, a long‑planned major homeland defence training activity, is “designed to rigorously test the RAF’s ability to protect the United Kingdom in an increasingly contested and volatile global security environment and forms a critical step to ensuring the RAF remains ready to ‘fight tonight’ in defence of the nation”. The RAF said air and ground units will spend the two‑week exercise working under contested, degraded and operationally limited conditions, simulating the effects of cyberattacks, long‑range precision‑strike threats and persistent attempts to disrupt UK air operations.