At approximately 2:45 p.m. local time, a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter belonging to the HSM-73 Battle Cats naval attack helicopter squadron crashed into the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Search and rescue units assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11 successfully rescued all three crew members.
Separately, at 3:15 p.m., an F/A-18F Super Hornet belonging to the VFA-22 Fighting Redcocks also crashed into the South China Sea while conducting routine operations with Nimitz, the Navy added. Both crew members managed to eject and were rescued by search and rescue units of the same strike group.
The causes of both events are now being investigated, the press service noted.
CNN writes that the F/A-18 fighter jet is at least the fourth aircraft of its $60 million type that the US Navy has lost this year.
The South China Sea, surrounded by China and several Southeast Asian countries, is a strategic transport route over which several governments compete, journalists recalled. Beijing claims almost complete ownership of these waters, despite an international court ruling rejecting its claims.
Over the past two decades, China has actively militarized the disputed islands, which, according to the United States, threatens freedom of navigation, the TV channel notes. Washington maintains a permanent military presence in the region to contain China.
The incidents with American planes occurred against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's diplomatic tour in Asia, during which he is scheduled to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trade is expected to be the main topic of negotiations – after months of tension, Washington and Beijing, according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have reached a framework agreement.
USS Nimitz, one of the largest warships in the world, is the oldest aircraft carrier in the US Navy and is scheduled to be decommissioned next year, the media noted.
