The US Navy has managed to recover the two aircraft that crashed into the South China Sea in October 2025, amid fears that China could get to the wreckage first and secure access to sensitive American technology.
In a shocking and inexplicable incident on October 26, a US Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the ‘Battle Cats’ of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron 22, crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other.
Both aircraft were reportedly operating out of the supercarrier USS Nimitz.
“All personnel involved are safe and in stable condition. The cause of both incidents is currently under investigation,” the US Pacific Command (which oversees operations in the South China Sea) wrote on social media site X at the time. It did not, however, give any specific information on the circumstances of this rarest of rare dual crashes at the time.
Recovery efforts were launched almost instantly, and the US Navy has since been trying to pull the aircraft out from the depths of the contested South China Sea.
Last month, for instance, reports suggested that USNS SALVOR (T-ARS 52), a Safeguard-class salvage ship operated by Military Sealift Command, was spotted operating in the South China Sea as part of these sustained recovery efforts.
The efforts finally yielded results on December 5, as noted by the US Seventh Fleet in an official statement on December 8.
The recovery effort was conducted by Commander, Task Force 73 (CTF 73); Task Force 75; the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV); and CTG 73.6’s Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit.
The aircraft was lifted and recovered by the Navy using a contracted “Vessel of Opportunity that was outfitted with a government-owned, contractor-operated unmanned system.”
Both aircraft were retrieved from a depth of about 400 feet, as per the official statement.
The crashes occurred in relatively shallow waters of the South China Sea, a strategically contested region where China claims nearly the entire area, despite an international tribunal ruling against those assertions.
The US Navy has not publicly disclosed the exact crash site to avoid compromising operational security.
“This recovery was a true Navy team effort across CTF 73, SUPSALV, Task Force 75, HSM 73, VFA 22, and our Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Andersen, the CTF 73 officer who led the salvage mission. “Everyone involved brought critical expertise, ensuring we could safely and successfully bring these aircraft back under U.S. custody. This operation highlights the importance of naval integration, readiness, and the unmatched capability of our salvage and diving teams.”
While the recovery has finally been made, the cause of this rare dual crash remains unknown.
In late October, US President Donald Trump said the cause of these crashes could be poor fuel quality, as reported by the EurAsian Times at the time. However, the claim could not be corroborated, and the US Navy is unlikely to share any information until the investigation is complete.
The aircraft’s condition and the state of its systems at the time of retrieval have not been further disclosed by the Navy, and there is no information on whether it could be repaired and reintroduced into service.
However, the Seventh Fleet said that all recovered aircraft components are being transported to a designated US military installation in the Indo-Pacific region for a “detailed analysis.”
Notably, this is the first time in US naval aviation history that two different manned tactical aircraft from the same carrier air wing crashed in the same operating area within one hour during peacetime.
The previous “closest call” was on 18 March 1992, when an F-14A Tomcat and an EA-6B Prowler from USS America collided mid-air over the Mediterranean. However, that was a single incident.
Who Gets To The Wreckage First
The US Navy expedited the recovery of the wreckage amid fears that sensitive technology could fall into the hands of the Chinese if they got there first.
“Acquiring an air frame and surviving systems will … provide valuable insights into its technological strengths and how to defeat it tactically,” Carl Schuster, the former head of the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, was quoted as saying by CNN in November 2025.
Experts point out that the Super Hornet’s sophisticated avionics, radar systems, and electronic warfare capabilities may influence China’s continued improvements to its J-15 carrier-based fighters.
Meanwhile, MH-60R, equipped with cutting-edge anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sensors and dipping sonar, represents a technological edge in underwater detection that China is actively seeking to match.
To be more specific, the US Navy was worried about the F/A-18F’s AN/APG-79(V)4 AESA radar array, which is still more advanced than anything on the J-15 or J-20 in certain modes, being compromised.
Additionally, it wanted to prevent China from getting its hands on the MH-60R’s AN/AQS-22 ALFS low-frequency dipping sonar, which is the exact system China has repeatedly tried (and failed) to fully replicate for its Z-20F naval helicopter.
While no verified reports confirm Chinese interference, the US apparently emphasized the operation’s priority to safeguard foreign material exploitation (FME) risks.
If China wanted to access the wreckage first, it would have a home advantage. In fact, the urgency of this operation could be gauged from the fact that the US pulled out the two aircraft from China’s neighborhood in less than two months, even though the three F/A-18E/F Super Hornets that were lost in the Red Sea are yet to be recovered.
Having said that, the latest episode is reminiscent of the US recovery effort for the F-35 that crashed in the South China Sea while attempting to land on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier.
A Navy recovery crew eventually managed to retrieve the F-35 from 12,400 feet (3,700 meters) below the surface to protect it from Beijing.
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