Tesco shoppers were left stunned on Monday after sporting black-clad figures abseiling at speed from several helicopters – in an apparent military exercise.
Footage shows the moment two dark blue and white helicopters appeared metres from the supermarket in Baguley, Manchester, this week.
Ropes were dropped from both choppers before six figures, wearing black clothing bearing a similarity to military fatigues, took it in turns to abseil down them and onto a nearby roof.
The figures then pulled the ropes from the helicopters, allowing them to fly off at speed.
Experts suggested the footage could show a training exercise used by SAS soldiers – the Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
Similar incidents have previously been spotted in other areas of the country, including in Wrexham and Salford.
Just a day before the choppers were spotted in Baguley, a similar scene unfolded in Media City in Salford, where the BBC now films much of its output.
Military helicopters were seen circling overhead before at least one landed on the roof of a car park at around 11.30pm.
Tesco shoppers were left stunned on Monday after sporting black-clad figures abseiling at speed from several helicopters – in an apparent military exercise in Baguley, Manchester
Ropes were dropped from both choppers before six figures, wearing black clothing bearing a similarity to military fatigues, took it in turns to abseil down them and onto a nearby roof
There were also reports of individuals ‘roping down’.
A witness told MEN: ‘We had three or four Blue Thunder helicopters circling around Media City and landing on the car park next to Premier Inn.
‘Quite unexpected in the middle of the night. There was also a lot of crew with gear on and ropes.’
Blue Thunder is the nickname given to the Eurocopter Dauphin II helicopters, which is used by the SAS.
Onlookers identified the helicopters seen in Baguley to also be Eurocopter Dauphin II aircraft.
On the same night as the Salford choppers were seen, the same type of aircraft was also spotted over Wrexham, Wales.
Witnesses described how the helicopters were flying low late in the evening, with all lights turned off.
At the time, there were no public or private aircraft recorded on flight trackers.
Footage shows the moment two dark blue and white helicopters appeared metres from the supermarket in Baguley, Manchester, this week
The helicopters – said to be Eurocopter Dauphin IIs – then flew off at speed
The Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphin, a fast twin-engine helicopter, apparently modified for rapid insertion and extraction of special forces.
Multiple arms of the UK military have been taking part in high-profile training exercises in recent weeks and months, as global tensions, such as those seen in the Ukraine war, rise.
On April 2, one of Royal Navy’s most fearsome warships was unleashed in a rare display of military power.
HMS Dauntless let loose with almost every weapon system at the ship’s disposal to destroy swarms of drones during a high-octane live-fire drill off the Welsh coast.
The £1 billion Type 45 vessel and her 190-strong crew fended off attack after attack from unmanned aircraft and boats as they raced towards it.
Helicopters armed with missiles blasted aircraft out of the sky, while ferocious machine guns on the ship, able to spew thousands of rounds a minutes, ripped into mock suicide drones.
The action was part of the final round of drills before Dauntless joins a major deployment to Asia in the coming weeks protecting one of Britain’s two £3 billion aircraft carriers.
The voyage could take the carrier strike group through dangerous waters in the Red Sea – and into the sights of Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have threatened to blast warships with their Iranian-made missiles and drones.
It means the heavily-armed destroyer – which is a critical part of the defensive shield protecting HMS Prince of Wales – may come under attack for real.
The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.
