It’s not every day you get military aircraft landing at your school. But that’s what happened at one Swansea comprehensive, when two Puma helicopters landed on playing fields during a three day exercise by the Royal Air Force.
The helicopters, which are used to move troops, weapons, and ammunition on the battlefield, as well as being deployed in non-combatant operations such as humanitarian and disaster relief, landed at Olchfa Comprehensive School in Sketty .
Their presence above the busy school, which has around 2,000 pupils, was difficult to ignore for residents living in the area, or the pupils of course.
A smoke flare was reported to have been seen on the playing fields before they landed. Flares are often deployed to indicate wind direction to the pilots.
The RAF have been undertaking the training exercises in conjunction with South Wales Police, which issued a warning earlier in the week for people not to be alarmed if they spotted the helicopters.
In fact, anyone taking photos of them in the skies above south Wales were being encouraged to share them with the force.
In a social media post, they wrote: “Please don’t be alarmed, this is part of our ongoing work to keep south Wales safe. If you see us, please give us a wave.”
Each Puma aircraft is capable of carrying 16 passengers, 12 fully equipped troops or up to two tonnes of freight.
