The booming heard in Salina Thursday night wasn’t thunder, it was the sound of a full-scale military training operation.

A deployment that includes members of Air Force, Navy and Army units, as well as representatives of the U.S. Special Operations Command and United Kingdom Special Operations is underway.

The event includes close air support training and live fire events. The loud bangs are the result of mock enemies being destroyed and inert ordnances being dropped at the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Weapons Range.

Salina was picked as the location for the event because of the Salina Regional Airport’s close proximity to the weapons range. The air traffic control tower will is working with the units to keep the planes west of the city when possible.