This is why you have been hearing planes flying above Newark at night

A US tactical fighter jet has been flying in the skies above Newark in recent nights – and local people have heard it loud and clear.

Last night (Tuesday) and on several nights last week, a McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle carried out night flying from around 7.30pm.

According to Flight Radar, a real-time aircraft flight tracking information site, the US Air Force jets are stationed at RAF Mildenhall and were flying at 14,000 to 16,000 feet.

The F-15 Eagle is an "all-weather, extremely manoeuvrable, tactical fighter designed to permit the Air Force to gain and maintain air supremacy over the battlefield", according to the US Air Force website.

Although the plane local people have been able to hear is likely to have been an F-15 Eagle, planes from RAF Cranwell have also been flying in the evenings.

At around the same time last night, two Embraer Phenom T1s took off from RAF Cranwell, flying at a lower altitude than the fighter jet.

The RAF describes the Embraer Phenom TI as a multi-engine pilot training aircraft that is used for pilot, mission aircrew and airborne specialist training.

An RAF spokesperson said night flying is a "vital element" of training for trainee pilots to help prepare them for the potential frontline roles in the future.