Military helicopters gave Edinburgh residents a sleepless nights as massive war games took place in the skies above the capital.
The aircraft were spotted flying without lights across the skies of Edinburgh last night.
Spotters identified the 'gunships' as double-rotor Chinook heavy lift helicopters - which are used by the RAF.
But locals took to social media to note the racket coming from the machines - which one described as the 'loudest helicopter ever' - Edinburgh Live reports.
The noise came as it was speculated the craft might be involved in the ongoing Operation Joint Warrior exercise.
Thousands of soldiers from across the world as well as warships and planes have descended on Scotland for the training exercise.
Gillian Webster posted: “Two black helicopters flying slowly and in tandem back & forth over the New Town with no lights on”.
User Marie said: “Did anyone else just here the loudest helicopter ever? Honestly thought the world was about to end.”
The path of the CH-47 Chinook over Edinburgh can be seen on online flight tracker websites, one of the aircraft, identified as Lifter11 and recorded as British in origin, flew into Edinburgh from the east yesterday evening.
It then performed a loop around the city centre rattling some windows before heading north over the Firth of Forth into Fife.
Operation Joint Warrior will see elite F-35 stealth fighters in the air over eastern Scotland as the Royal Navy flagship the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth is put through her paces in the North Sea.
The massive aircraft carrier will be joined by around 28 warships, two submarines, 81 aircraft and more than 6000 military personnel as forces attend military ranges across the country and undertake maritime exercise areas off the east, west and north coasts of Scotland.
There has already been some disruption on the Clyde after a pod of whales had to be moved.
