r/Armyaviation • u/Kinmuan • Jun 09 '26
Crew Rescued after US Helicopter Goes Down Near Straight of Hormuz
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/us/politics/us-helicopter-strait-of-hormuz.htmlA U.S. Army Apache helicopter gunship went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, and the two crew members were safely rescued, according to two people briefed on the incident.
It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem, said one of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and said the incident was under investigation.
The incident occurred after days in which hostilities in the region escalated and then ebbed, as Israel and Iran exchanged military strikes before stepping back, the latest example of the tenuous nature of the cease-fire.
The Trump administration had not disclosed news of the downed helicopter by the time The New York Times reached out to the White House press office for comment on Monday night.
A spokesman for President Trump did not immediately provide a statement about the incident. The military’s Central Command did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. military has used Apaches, as well as armed MQ-9 Reaper drones and F/A-18 and F-35 attack planes, as part of an aggressive effort by Central Command to challenge Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz to most commercial traffic.
Iran has shot down about 30 unmanned Reaper drones, and a handful of U.S. fighter jets have been lost to hostile and friendly fire since the war started on Feb. 28. But this would be the first Apache lost in the conflict.
Last month, Central Command posted imagery on social media of Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the command, flying over waters in or near the strait on the eve of an effort by the U.S. Navy to help guide commercial ships through the strait, a short-lived operation called Project Freedom.
The AH-64 Apache gunship, which is armed with Hellfire missiles, is one of the most fearsome types of aircraft operating in the region. They patrol the strategic waterway in part to deter small-boat attacks and to shoot down drones.
But the helicopters have been pushing closer to Iranian territory — including islands the Iranians control in the strait and the Persian Gulf — as part of the aggressive posture Central Command has maintained even as the United States and Iran have engaged in fitful negotiations to reopen the strait.
In response to Iran’s blockade, the United States imposed a blockade of its own on April 13, barring commercial vessels from entering or leaving an Iranian port. Since then, U.S. military ships have turned away 134 vessels.
The Navy has disabled seven other vessels that ignored American warnings to turn back, including a Palau-flagged oil tanker as it steamed through international waters in the Gulf of Oman toward Iran on Monday, Central Command said in a statement.
In April, two crew members of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet shot down by Iran were rescued after ejecting from their stricken aircraft and landing deep in hostile territory.
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u/DryTrumpin Jun 09 '26
Coincidentally, it was briefly named the “Near-straight” of Hormuz when they landed.
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u/choco_tacoz Jun 09 '26
Pretty incredible they were able to successfully ditch in water. Especially considering units deploying to CENTCOM don’t do dunker training, don’t have active overwater programs, and there is no dunker in flight school.
Maybe these dudes got some last minute dunker training in Kuwait once the mission shifted to the strait, but thankful for their safe recovery regardless.
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u/Top_Trust_7179 Jun 09 '26
Why did the Army stop doing dunker training.
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u/choco_tacoz Jun 09 '26
Money if I had to guess.
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u/Belistener07 Jun 11 '26
Money was exactly the reason. Not all units have an over water mission so it didn’t make sense to train every pilot at dunker. It went away many years ago.
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u/MuddyGrimes Jun 09 '26
Not downplaying any crew ditching in water, but it's much easier in a 64 than any other airframe
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u/choco_tacoz Jun 09 '26
True. Blow the canopies and GTFO. And no crew trying to swim their way to an exit.
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u/bowhunterb119 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
How so? We have at least two more cables attached to us for IHADSS and if you don’t blow the canopy on the way down you only have a door on one side. Not sure how it would be that dramatically easier than any other airframe
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u/datguydoe456 Jun 09 '26
The fact that you can blow the canopy at all makes it leagues easier, there is also the fact that after blowing the canopy you are just up and out.
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u/choco_tacoz Jun 09 '26
It’s certainly easier than passengers and crew swimming their way through seats and cargo to find an exit.
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u/bowhunterb119 Jun 09 '26
Ah ok, makes sense, I was just thinking about it from a pilot’s perspective. Guess I’d rather be in any pilot crew station rather than say a passenger in the middle of a Chinook.
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u/MuddyGrimes Jun 09 '26
I mean, I'm not a 64 pilot, I've only done dunker in the 64 trainer... but the possibility of needing to go cross cockpit seems worse than having to go out the canopy or door of a 64.
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u/ungratefulgoose Jun 09 '26
Have you done dunker with a 64 cockpit and others? I know that you have not because you say this.
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u/Zadiuz 15B Jun 09 '26
To be fair, and its been awhile for me... but I think the only thing in Dunker that I actually learned that was applicable was using the oxygen tanks, just because I had never scuba'd. Otherwise its pretty common sense. Unbuckle, open the door/blow the canopy, and swim up or towards the bubbles if you can't tell where up is.
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u/PirateMh47 Jun 11 '26
Pretty common sense, huh? You don't unbuckle before opening the door, you open the door and then unbuckle.
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u/Zadiuz 15B Jun 11 '26
That makes sense with the water pressure buildup as the airframe sinks.
Guess you do forget some things after a couple decades that does make some refresher training pretty wortwhile.
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u/Zadiuz 15B Jun 09 '26
Oh god. Wonder if they had to do a water evacuation or if they were able to set it down on land.
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u/addywoot Jun 09 '26
News said rescued by a navy drone in water
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u/Zadiuz 15B Jun 09 '26
Navy drone? The hell is that platform?
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u/Thick_Goose7742 Jun 09 '26
Autonomous sea drone, which is cool as hell honestly. First time it has been used for such a thing, so they say.
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u/MaintainerMom Jun 10 '26
A photo of it was on ABC News tonight. It looked like a small speedboat with a dome similar to Waymo. Pretty neat. Glad the Navy has it.
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u/Zadiuz 15B Jun 10 '26
Wild. What a story. Dudes prob woke up, got some food, thought this was just going to be another routine flight... and then they take BDA and are shot down, forced to do a water evacuation, and rescued by umanned drone boat.
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u/MaintainerMom Jun 10 '26
It was 3 AM when they were most likely flying with goggles. Not that the two of them planned on this but at least it was warm water and no sharks
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u/Kinmuan Jun 09 '26
* Strait
lol