Two United States Navy aircraft — a Seahawk helicopter and a Super Hornet jet — crashed separately in the South China Sea during routine operations, the US Navy confirmed. The incidents, which happened just 30 minutes apart, involved aircraft assigned to the USS Nimitz carrier strike group.
According to reports, an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 and an F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 22 both went down during training missions. Fortunately, all crew members were safely recovered and are in stable condition.
The Navy described both crashes as “unrelated” but noted that investigations are underway to determine the cause. The service has not released further details, including the exact location of the incidents, pending results of the inquiry.
While routine in nature, the crashes underscore the operational risks faced by carrier-based pilots and crew members who conduct flight operations over contested waters like the South China Sea — a region long marked by military tensions among several nations, including the United States and China.