"Driving the news: The helicopter that's assigned to the "Battle Cats" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73 "went down in the waters of the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz" about 2:45pm local time, according to the posts. After its three crew members were rescued, an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter assigned to the "Fighting Redcocks" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22 crashed in the sea at 3:15pm "while conducting routine operations from Nimitz," the posts said."
""Both crew members successfully ejected and were also safely recovered by search and rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11." Context: The South China Sea is a key shipping channel and China's ruling Communist Party claims to own most of it, an assertion neighboring countries dispute. The U.S. military has over the years conducted drills with allies in the region. Zoom out: The incidents come as President Trump tours Asia, where he's expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week."
A helicopter assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73, nicknamed the Battle Cats, went down in the South China Sea while conducting routine operations from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz at about 2:45pm local time. Three crew members were rescued. About 30 minutes later, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, nicknamed the Fighting Redcocks, crashed in the sea while conducting routine operations from Nimitz; both crew members ejected and were recovered by search-and-rescue assets assigned to Carrier Strike Group 11. The South China Sea is a key shipping channel with overlapping territorial claims involving China and neighboring countries. The incidents occurred during President Trump’s Asia tour ahead of a planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Read at Axios
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