A US Navy salvage vessel has been deployed to the South China Sea as part of an effort to recover two aircraft that had crashed into those waters earlier this year.
The Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor has arrived in the area to recover the wreckage of an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet and an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter that had crashed into the water within just minutes of each other on October 26, 2025.
Both aircraft were assigned to squadrons deployed aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and were conducting routine operations from the ship when the twin incidents occurred.
All five crewmembers from the two aircraft were safely rescued later that day.
Commander Matthew Comer, a spokesman for the US Navy's Seventh Fleet headquartered in Japan, confirmed earlier this week that Salvor is already on-scene. However, the location where the recovery effort is being undertaken has not been disclosed.