US Navy loses F/A-18 fighter jet, Sea Hawk helicopter in South China Sea within 30 minutes; here’s what we know so far

The US Navy has lost a fighter jet and a helicopter based off the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz as both crashed into the South China Sea in separate incidents within 30 minutes of each other on Sunday afternoon (October 26, 2025), the Navy's Pacific Fleet said.

The three crew members of the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were rescued, and the two aviators in the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet ejected and were recovered safely All five are safe and in stable condition,” the fleet said in a statement. According to the statement, the causes of the two crashes have not yet been ascertained and were under investigation.

“South China Sea – On October 26, 2025 at approximately 2:45 p.m. local time, a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the “Battle Cats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73 went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations,” US Pacific Fleet said in a post on X.

USS Nimiz is returning to Washington from the Middle East

The USS Nimitz is returning to its home port in Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state after having been deployed to the Middle East for most of the summer as part of the U.S. response to attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping. The carrier is on its final deployment before decommissioning.

USS Harry S. Truman's recent mishaps

Another aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, suffered a series of mishaps recently while deployed to the Middle East. In December 2024, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 jet from the Truman, according to the news agency AP.

Then, in April 2025, another F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the Truman's hangar deck and fell into the Red Sea. And in May, an F/A fighter jet landing on the carrier in the Red Sea went overboard after apparently failing to catch the steel cables used to stop landing planes and forcing its two pilots to eject.

No sailors were killed in any of those mishaps. The results of investigations into those incidents have yet to be released.