Guernsey Ports has confirmed more details around the noisy training flight which caught most people by surprise on Wednesday.
Just before 18:00 yesterday, “two French Dassault Rafale aircraft conducted a training flight over Guernsey”, a spokesperson told Express on Thursday afternoon.
The training flight was heard by many people across the Channel Islands with social media awash with theories in the immediate aftermath.
Some were anxious that the Channel Islands had suddenly become embroiled in the Middle East conflict.
Attempts to identify the planes threw up a range of different theories, including many tongue-in-cheek efforts: the planes were as loud as Concorde, but a bit small; perhaps Aurigny Dorniers? Eurofighter Typhoons were a popular suggestion.
It all happened too fast for most people to take pictures, but Express reporter Jack Silver caught them disappearing into the distance south of Guernsey.
Received “wisdom” on Facebook was that the aircraft were French Dassault Rafales – later confirmed by Guernsey Ports.
Sightings in Channel Island airspace are not unusual, although the planes don’t usually reach their top velocity of 1.8 times the speed of sound – that’s approaching 1,400 miles per hour – in these parts.
Guernsey Ports said the aircraft kept their distance despite the noise, and that the training flight was approved in advance.
“Neither aircraft descended below 1000ft and routed East-West over the Runway,” confirmed a spokesperson.
“This was arranged via Jersey ATC and a Guernsey Air Traffic Control Officer was in communication with the lead pilot at all times whilst in Guernsey’s AOR (Area of Responsibility).
“The Airport Duty Executive and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor were both informed prior to the event.”
The Lieutenant Governor was likely consulted because His Excellency is Commander-in-Chief of British Armed Forces in the Bailiwick.
A ‘burst of fire’
The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation (Wikipedia).
Dassault Rafale means ‘gust of wind’ or ‘burst of fire’.
Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions.
It is referred to as an ‘omnirole’ aircraft by Dassault.
The Rafale is considered one of the most advanced and capable warplanes in the world (Wikipedia) and has been used in combat over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq, Syria, and by India.
The Rafale is produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. It has also been marketed for export to several countries, and was selected for purchase by the Egyptian Air Force, the Indian Navy, the Qatar Air Force, and others.
In March 2026, a Dassault Rafale severed a power line during a low-altitude training flight over France. Three municipalities were left without electricity as a result.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport. There were no injuries.