MILITARY aircrafts have been spotted over the skies of the North East over the last few days – which has caused some questions from locals in North Yorkshire, County Durham and Teesside.

On Friday (March 25), a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III was spotted above Sacriston, County Durham and Teesside Airport by eagle-eyed photographers, who wondered where it was travelling to and from.

With many believing that the plane was destined for Ukraine to deliver aid to the war-torn country, many others enquired whether it was a military training exercise over the UK.

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Since the ‘fly-over’ on Friday, other planes have been spotted over the weekend and into this week – which has sparked further questions.

However, the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) has now clarified the planes seen in the North East, and explained that several of the planes had travelled up from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to conduct training exercises, which explains why the Globemaster III was seen over the Whale Hill area of Eston between the Yorkshire towns of Redcar and Cleveland and the drills also reportedly involved practice landings at Teesside Airport.

The Northern Echo: A Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. Picture: TONY RAINE.A Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. Picture: TONY RAINE.

Aspokesperson from the RAF said: “An RAF Globemaster C-17 from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was completing routine training in the Yorkshire and Teesside region. The RAF use a variety of locations around the UK for training as they provide complex airspace and differing challenges for our pilots to ensure we remain ready and able to deploy on global operations.”

The Northern Echo: An RAF plane over Sacriston, County Durham. Picture: WILLIAM WHITEHEAD. An RAF plane over Sacriston, County Durham. Picture: WILLIAM WHITEHEAD.

Elsewhere, Atlas A400M aircraft completed a 9-hour round trip mission from the UK to conduct air drop re-supply in Romania earlier today, while Typhoons deployed to 903 Expeditionary Air Wing are supporting NATO Enhanced Vigilance Activity, patrolling NATO airspace over Romania.

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