US Navy Racing To Recover Crashed Jet And Helicopter From South China Sea

The US Navy is working to retrieve an F/A-18 Super Hornet and an MH-60 helicopter from the bottom of the South China Sea—wreckage that analysts say could hand Beijing valuable intelligence if China were to reach it first, according to CNN.

Both aircraft went down within about 30 minutes in late October while operating from the USS Nimitz. All personnel were rescued, and while the Navy has not identified a cause, former President Donald Trump suggested soon afterward that “contaminated fuel” may be responsible.

The Navy confirmed Friday that a salvage vessel is already on-site. “USNS SALVOR (T-ARS 52), a Safeguard-class salvage ship operated by Military Sealift Command, is on-scene conducting operations in support of the recovery efforts,” said Cmdr. Matthew Comer of the 7th Fleet. The Salvor can lift up to 300 tons—far more than the weight of either aircraft.

CNN writes that experts warn that both wrecks contain technology China would like to examine. Carl Schuster, former director of operations at US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said, “Acquiring an air frame and surviving systems will … provide valuable insights into its technological strengths and how to defeat it tactically.”

He noted that Beijing has never had access to a crashed F/A-18; recovering one could help China refine its carrier-based J-15T jets. The MH-60’s anti-submarine warfare systems could also offer insights to a PLA Navy that, Schuster said, is urgently trying to modernize: “So, recovering that helicopter should enjoy a high priority.”

It’s unclear whether China is attempting to locate the wrecks. Still, geography favors Beijing. As Schuster put it, “If China makes it a race, it enjoys homefield advantage … and can be expected to impede our recovery efforts” if it chooses.

The crashes occurred in waters Beijing claims almost entirely as its own, rejecting an international tribunal ruling to the contrary. China’s Foreign Ministry said it could offer humanitarian help but also criticized Washington’s regional presence. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the incidents happened during “US military exercises” and argued, “The US has been flexing muscles by frequently sending military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea. This is the root cause of security issues at sea and disruption to regional peace and stability.”

The US last mounted a similar recovery in 2022, when a lost F-35 was lifted from 12,400 feet. With decades of Chinese military expansion in the region and heavy strategic competition, the race for this wreckage carries stakes well beyond hardware.