On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the public affairs office of US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the US 5th Fleet announced via social media that an MH-60S Seahawk multirole helicopter, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea.
MH-60S Seahawk / Photos: CENTCOM
“On July 1 at 3:30 a.m. ET, the aircrew of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) conducted an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea. There is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action. Three of the helicopter’s four crew members have been recovered and are in stable condition aboard George H. W. Bush. U.S. Navy assets in the region are currently searching for other aircrewman still missing. The cause of incident is under investigation.”
US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet
Carrier Air Wing 7 is deployed aboard USS George H.W. Bush. Among its components is Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 (HSC-5) Nightdippers, based at Naval Air Station Norfolk in Virginia, which is equipped with MH-60S Seahawk helicopters. Crew complement is typically three to four members.
The MH-60S (Sierra) is a naval multirole helicopter adapted for search and rescue, transport, and mine countermeasures operations, carrying sonar and sonobuoys as part of AMCM (Airborne Mine Countermeasures). It can also fulfill a combat role, engaging small surface vessels using 7.62mm machine guns (M240 or M134), 70mm Hydra 70 unguided rockets, and AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles. It features large sliding doors on both sides, facilitating crew operations.
They are complemented by the shipboard MH-60R (Romeo), designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tasks – both variants were developed as successors to various versions of the older SH-60 Seahawk.
On July 1 at 3:30 a.m. ET, the aircrew of an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) conducted an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea. There is no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action. Three of the helicopter’s four crew…
— U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) July 1, 2026
U.S. Sailors and Marines aboard USS Tripoli (LHA 7) rappel out of an MH-60S Sea Hawk while the ship sails in the Arabian Sea. pic.twitter.com/QULGIkO5yk
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 6, 2026
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