America's "OOPS!" military

[Hawkeye10]

Nury Vittachi
@NuryVittachi


Breaking news: Two more US Navy aircraft fell off aircraft carriers into the South China Sea yesterday, US Navy command said. One was a Sea Hawk helicopter and the other an F18 fighter jet.Both tumbled into the ocean in separate accidents just 30 minutes apart on Sunday mid-afternoon local times.This follows incidents earlier this year in which another two F18 jets fell into the water—that was in May.These massively expensive instruments of war are poised in East Asia to intimidate China—but are arguably doing the opposite.A single F18 jetfighter costs 60 million US dollars.While crew members are safely recovered in most cases, the loss of equipment will run into hundreds of millions of dollars, and the loss of reputation is arguably even worse.

Oct 26, 2025

 

[Crepitus]

Nury Vittachi
@NuryVittachi


Breaking news: Two more US Navy aircraft fell off aircraft carriers into the South China Sea yesterday, US Navy command said. One was a Sea Hawk helicopter and the other an F18 fighter jet.Both tumbled into the ocean in separate accidents just 30 minutes apart on Sunday mid-afternoon local times.This follows incidents earlier this year in which another two F18 jets fell into the water—that was in May.These massively expensive instruments of war are poised in East Asia to intimidate China—but are arguably doing the opposite.A single F18 jetfighter costs 60 million US dollars.While crew members are safely recovered in most cases, the loss of equipment will run into hundreds of millions of dollars, and the loss of reputation is arguably even worse.

Oct 26, 2025

Did they crash or literally just fall off the carriers?

 

[Hawkeye10]

Did they crash or literally just fall off the carriers?

They fell overboard because they were not properly secured....and not for the first time in recent years.....something that I think we once could go a decade or more without doing.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Did they crash or literally just fall off the carriers?

Both crashed. The cause of these two crashes is under investigation.

https://news.usni.org/2025/10/26/super-hornet-helicopter-assigned-to-uss-nimitz-crash-in-south-china-sea-in-separate-incidents-crew-safe?utm_source=USNI+News&utm_campaign=341f97b43d-USNI_NEWS_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dd4a1450b-341f97b43d-230397521&mc_cid=341f97b43d&mc_eid=49cd210400

 

[Crepitus]

OK, so looks like the first two just feel off the ship and the second two crashed.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

My bet is the Navy will sweep it under the rug and either blame some low-level nothing of a sailor for it or will just chalk it up to 'shit happens.'

As for why my first suspicion, based on my own time seeing such things first hand, is that the maintenance on those aircraft was for shit because the people doing it didn't have the proper tools, parts, or training to get it done so they did the best they could and hoped things didn't go wrong. The second likelihood is that the aircrew and pilots were worn out from 12 to 16-hour days 7 days a week for months on end because that's how carriers operate because the Navy is shorthanded.

Amid shortage, Navy recruiting program struggles to keep half first-year shipbuilders: Official - Breaking Defense

"Those folks are coming, and then we're attriting out way too quick," said Brett Seidle, the Navy’s acting acquisition executive.

breakingdefense.com

https://news.usni.org/2024/08/22/navy-could-sideline-17-support-ships-due-to-manpower-issues

People aren't signing up and those that do quit as soon as they can. Not the way to run things.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Alright so this is two failed takeoffs almost at the same time....not a better story for the Navy.

 

[Hawkeye10]

My bet is the Navy will sweep it under the rug and either blame some low-level nothing of a sailor for it or will just chalk it up to 'shit happens.'

As for why my first suspicion, based on my own time seeing such things first hand, is that the maintenance on those aircraft was for shit because the people doing it didn't have the proper tools, parts, or training to get it done so they did the best they could and hoped things didn't go wrong. The second likelihood is that the aircrew and pilots were worn out from 12 to 16-hour days 7 days a week for months on end because that's how carriers operate because the Navy is shorthanded.

Amid shortage, Navy recruiting program struggles to keep half first-year shipbuilders: Official - Breaking Defense

"Those folks are coming, and then we're attriting out way too quick," said Brett Seidle, the Navy’s acting acquisition executive.

breakingdefense.com

https://news.usni.org/2024/08/22/navy-could-sideline-17-support-ships-due-to-manpower-issues

People aren't signing up and those that do quit as soon as they can. Not the way to run things.

More likely incompetent launch orders.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

More likely incompetent launch orders.

They were already airborne. Neither had anything to do with a "launch," particularly the SH 60 helicopter that doesn't get a catapult launch.

 

[Hawkeye10]

They were already airborne. Neither had anything to do with a "launch," particularly the SH 60 helicopter that doesn't get a catapult launch.

We dont remotely know that.....and it is highly unlikely.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

We dont remotely know that.....and it is highly unlikely.

Yes, we do, and so does the carrier staff and crew. They had the planes tracked visually and on radar. They know where they are. A launch event takes a matter of seconds, then the aircraft is airborne. Neither aircraft was in a landing cycle either. That means they were airborne when something went wrong and the primary reason for that is maintenance failures.

 

[FastLane]

Both crashed. The cause of these two crashes is under investigation.

https://news.usni.org/2025/10/26/super-hornet-helicopter-assigned-to-uss-nimitz-crash-in-south-china-sea-in-separate-incidents-crew-safe?utm_source=USNI+News&utm_campaign=341f97b43d-USNI_NEWS_DAILY&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0dd4a1450b-341f97b43d-230397521&mc_cid=341f97b43d&mc_eid=49cd210400

Yep Carrier operations is a very dangerous business and has always been and will always be a dangerous business. The Us does it bigger and better than anyone else. The US will investigate and find out what happened and why. This may be a bad fuel issue.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

Yep Carrier operations is a very dangerous business and has always been and will always be a dangerous business. The Us does it bigger and better than anyone else. The US will investigate and find out what happened and why. This may be a bad fuel issue.

It is possible. Saltwater contamination of the fuel can occur. There are supposed to be regular tests to ensure that doesn't happen but if someone is tired or lazy... And given how complex the fuel storage and pumping systems on a carrier are, things can simply go wrong.

 

[FastLane]

More likely incompetent launch orders.

Is that what your grapevine tells you?

 

[Hawkeye10]

Yes, we do, and so does the carrier staff and crew. They had the planes tracked visually and on radar. They know where they are. A launch event takes a matter of seconds, then the aircraft is airborne. Neither aircraft was in a landing cycle either. That means they were airborne when something went wrong and the primary reason for that is maintenance failures.

We will likely find out on this one.....I dont think the NAVY is going to be able to keep this quiet.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Is that what your grapevine tells you?

Nothing Yet.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Bad fuel is the current story....do they use the same fuel?

I tend to doubt it.

 

[FastLane]

Nothing Yet.

Do you ever get sap in your ear from your grapevine?

 

[FastLane]

Bad fuel is the current story....do they use the same fuel?

I tend to doubt it.

They both have jet engines. Carriers use JP 5 fuel for jet engine aircraft.

 

[Hawkeye10]

This carrier is on its way back from its last deployment.....broken Give A Shit is the immediate suspicion.