A PAIR of American military jets were spotted in the skies over Southampton during a training exercise.

One of the F15s requested to perform a fly-by near the tower at Southampton Airport at about 2pm yesterday as part of the exercise.

The duo were from the 48th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

A spokesman for Southampton airport said “They only reason we know about it was that one of them contacted our traffic tower and requested a low fly past on the run way. They flew right down and went right back up again.”

They added that no commercial aircraft were diverted or delayed during the exercise.

The 48th Fighter Wing contains five squadrons of F-15 aircraft, along with HH-60G helicopters, which are involved in fighter and rescue operations worldwide.

The jets are involved in operations for US Air Forces across Europe, as well as NATO.

Below are two videos showing what the aircraft are capable of:

Rob Fanstone, 28, a BT engineer from Grange Park was on his day off when he heard the jets coming over his house.

Stepping outside his Greyhound Close home, he saw the planes just metres overhead.

He said: “They were 80 to 100 feet above my house it was that loud. They must be real low above my house, just above the tree line. They disappeared into the distance, they were so quick, so powerful.

I’ve never seen them so low. It looked like they were circling towards Bishop’s Waltham.”

The planes were so low that Rob said: “I could see quite clearly into the cockpit.”

Rob said they circulated around his house for a couple of seconds before flying off but added they were in the air for about 40 minutes.

FACTFILE

The Mc Donnell Douglas (now Boeing) F15E Eagle is a twin-engine tactical fighter first flown in 1972 and entered service in 1976.

The F15E Strike Eagle is a variant on the initial plane which was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed manoeuvres.

Carrying a crew of two, it is capable of reaching speeds of Mach 2.5, or more than 1,650mph.
They are nearly 20 metres (64ft) in length with a wingspan of more than 13 metres (42.8 ft).

Weighing more than 14 tonnes, it has a combat radius of at least 790 miles or 2,400 miles with minimum weight and extra fuel tanks.

It can fly at heights of 60,000 feet and can climb 50,000 feet in one minute (or 254 metres per second).

The standard payload can include 16 air-to-air missiles, 13 air-to surface missiles and a range of bombs including nuclear weapons.

The Strike Eagle has been deployed for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. During these operations the F-15E has carried out strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrols, and providing air support for US and British troops.

It has also seen action in later conflicts and has been exported to several countries such as Japan and Saudi Arabia for use with their air forces.

The F-15 Eagle is expected to be in service with the US Air Force past 2025 with the production line set to end in 2019, 47 years after the type's first flight.

The 48th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force is the only F-15 wing based in Europe.