If you are new to the NNK or have been a part-timer and recently moved here permanently, you probably should know about loud, house-shaking booms and other loud noises. They come from Dahlgren in King George County, Fort AP Hill in Caroline County, or from the naval station Pax River in St. Mary’s County, MD.
Dahlgren
Officially Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren tests munitions at the Potomac River Test Range and at the Explosive Experimental Area at the Pumpkin Neck, across Machodoc Creek to the south of Dahlgren. The installation
originally established itself as the major testing area for naval guns and ammunition. Today, it continues to provide the military with the development and integration of warfare systems for the warfighter, warfighting and the future fleet.
NSWCDD conducts advance research in all systems-related areas and pursues scientific disciplines including physics, mathematics, directed energy and digital engineering, modeling and simulation, software, mechanical, electrical and systems engineering, to name some. (Source)
In addition to testing on both sites, the illustration Potomac River Test Range (Source (PDF)) displays the range, from Dahlgren to the mouth of the Potomac River.
Dahlgren informs the public of activities via the Potomac River Test Range Website. Information provided includes testing dates and locations, noise, and river restrictions.
Fort AP Hill
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill is home to a range of training for all US military branches as well as state and local agencies. Most involving live-fire operations. According to The Center for Land Use Interpretation, “there are 31 training areas, 40 firing ranges, 13 demolition sites, tank maneuver areas, aerial gunnery complexes, an urban warfare training complex, and numerous mortar firing positions within the 76,000-acre base.”
Close-in neighbors are known to complain about smoke and noise and there is a well-known process―A Citizen’s Guide: Training Noise Management at Fort A.P. Hill (PDF)―to report and address it.
The guide also says “If you live in Caroline, Essex, Spotsylvania, Stafford or King George Counties, you likely have heard sounds of military training at Fort A.P. Hill, Marine Corps Base Quantico or the Dahlgren Naval Base.” It is unlikely that noise from Quantico would reach the Northern Neck.
However, the guide indicates demolition and large calibre activity and aviation activity result in noise and vibrations which barely touch the western boundary of the Northern Neck where the Rappahannock River meets Richmond County.
Pax River
Naval Air Station Patuxent River is home to NAVAIR, Naval Air Systems Command. The command oversees fixed wing, rotorcraft, unmanned systems, and more. The Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three division (VX-23) “conducts more than 3,000 flight operations annually, totaling approximately 4,400 flight hours, much of which involves high-risk flight test. VX-23 conducts operations, both shore based and shipboard, locally at NAS Patuxent River and operates and maintains the TC-7 catapult and MK-7 arresting gear test sites.” (Source)
Some tests of air assets results in sonic booms. The fact sheet Sonic Booms (PDF) explains:
Why does NAS Patuxent River conduct supersonic operations?
Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River (PAX) is the U.S. Navy’s headquarters for the research, development, test and evaluation of all Navy aircraft, aircraft components and related systems needed to carry out their military mission. Among the tests occurring at NAS PAX are evaluations of jets’ abilities to fly at the speed of sound or “supersonic.”
Why are supersonic flights flown over the Chesapeake Bay?
NAS PAX flight test squadrons conduct several types of supersonic operations in military restricted airspace over the Chesapeake Bay. Jet aircraft pilots perform low-level weapons separation test flights to ensure that ordnance separates safely from the aircraft when released at supersonic speeds. The aircraft must stay close to shore so that tracking stations along the Bay Shore can record the operation through high-powered cameras. Supersonic flights are also conducted at or above 30,000 feet over the Chesapeake Bay for mission essential flight testing.
The Noise Management Team informs the public of activities via the Citizen Concerns page. There is a public calendar of testing and information about reporting noise.
The image F/A-18 Hornet with condensation clouds from shockwaves shown to the right visualizes the shock wave. Sonic Booms explains, “F/A-18 Super Hornet (the image shown in the fact sheet) approaches the speed of sound. The lens-shaped cloud is condensed water vapor that forms in the area of low pressure. The high-pressure area, or ridge, streams invisibly from the nose and wings of the aircraft.”
Read Navy eyes sonic boom noise monitoring system for test flights over Chesapeake Bay to learn about a new way the Navy can better address noise from noisy flights.
Map source: OpenStreetMap
F-18 image: This image was originally posted to Flickr by EDrost88 at https://flickr.com/photos/62091376@N03/53974088605. It was reviewed on 31 January 2025 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.
Sonic boom sound effect: freesound_community from Pixabay