Two Navy Aircraft Crash; Crew Rescued Amid Mishaps

On October 26, 2025, two U.S. Navy aircraft — an MH-60R Sea Hawk from HSM-73 “Battle Cats” and an F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA-22 “Fighting Redcocks” — went down in separate incidents about 30 minutes apart while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the South China Sea. Search-and-rescue teams recovered all five crew members — three helicopter personnel and two jet aviators who ejected — and all were taken aboard the Nimitz and are reported in stable condition. The U.S. Pacific Fleet said both incidents are under investigation and has not released causes or indicated any hostile engagement. The crashes occurred in the geopolitically sensitive South China Sea, a vital shipping lane with overlapping territorial claims that the U.S. regularly patrols to uphold freedom of navigation. The incidents come as the Nimitz concludes an extended deployment ahead of decommissioning and follow a series of other carrier-based aircraft mishaps earlier in the year, prompting Navy safety reviews.