Navy Helicopter Goes Down in Arabian Sea; Search Ongoing for Missing Crew Member

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) sails while an MH-60S Sea Hawk, attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, flies alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), June 18, 2026. U.S. Navy photoA search effort is underway for a missing crew member of a U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter that went down in the Arabian Sea on July 1.The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which oversees naval operations in the waterways of the Middle East, announced the helicopter conducted an “emergency water landing” at around 3:30 a.m. ET. The helicopter was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.Three of the helicopter’s four flight crew members have been recovered and were reported to be in stable condition after being returned to the George H.W. Bush.The cause of the emergency incident is under investigation, but the 5th Fleet reported there was no apparent sign that it was the result of hostile action.This emergency incident comes about three weeks after a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter went down off the coast of Oman. The U.S. government assessed that an Iranian drone was responsible for downing the U.S. helicopter on June 8, and President Donald Trump ordered a round of strikes on Iran in retaliation.An unmanned sea drone was the first to reach the two flight crew members of the downed Apache helicopter and transferred them to a rescue helicopter. That rescue effort took approximately two hours.This is a developing report and will be updated with additional details.