Truman lost an F/A 18 over the side

[Cold]

An F/A-18E Super Hornet from USS Harry S. Truman has been lost overboard along with its tug(!) while being manoeuvred around the hangar.
Apparently the ship made a sharp turn to avoid Houthi fire and the pair went out the door. Just one minor injury reported.

"An investigation is underway" finished the statement from the US Navy. No chairs or biscuits required for that one.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/28/politics/us-nav...

[craigjm]

Whoops

[hidetheelephants]

That'll be a new one to go in the standing orders.

"No aircraft movements permitted while the ship is evading Temu attack drones."

[Simpo Two]

“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard"

- sounds so much more planned than 'Sailors ran like fk'.

The Houti will take encouragement from the news, which I'm surprised was released.

[bitchstewie]

It staggers me that something so big can do this

[Countdown]

Simpo Two said:

The Houti will take encouragement from the news, which I'm surprised was released.

The Blowfish will be celebrating as well!

[Acorn1]

We've all been there in DCS, spawn onto the carrier deck and decides to make a hard turn

A full enquiry will no doubt be had.

[aeropilot]

The loss of the tug might be more of a problem than the Superbug........no doubt they have capacity to cope with short term downtime for tug maintenance/repair, but longer time might be an issue.......wonder when/where her next scheduled port stop is that they can fly a replacement out to her?

[eharding]

aeropilot said:

The loss of the tug might be more of a problem than the Superbug........no doubt they have capacity to cope with short term downtime for tug maintenance/repair, but longer time might be an issue.......wonder when/where her next scheduled port stop is that they can fly a replacement out to her?

The Shipboard Tow Tractors (STT) don't look that large - possible to get a whole one delivered in the back of a COD or V-22, or maybe broken down into crated parts and reassembled on board?

[hidetheelephants]

eharding said:

aeropilot said:

The loss of the tug might be more of a problem than the Superbug........no doubt they have capacity to cope with short term downtime for tug maintenance/repair, but longer time might be an issue.......wonder when/where her next scheduled port stop is that they can fly a replacement out to her?

The Shipboard Tow Tractors (STT) don't look that large - possible to get a whole one delivered in the back of a COD or V-22, or maybe broken down into crated parts and reassembled on board?

Looks like the price just went up 25%, it's a vehicle and it's made in Germany.

[aeropilot]

hidetheelephants said:

eharding said:

aeropilot said:

The loss of the tug might be more of a problem than the Superbug........no doubt they have capacity to cope with short term downtime for tug maintenance/repair, but longer time might be an issue.......wonder when/where her next scheduled port stop is that they can fly a replacement out to her?

The Shipboard Tow Tractors (STT) don't look that large - possible to get a whole one delivered in the back of a COD or V-22, or maybe broken down into crated parts and reassembled on board?

Looks like the price just went up 25%, it's a vehicle and it's made in Germany.

[Watcher of the skies]

aeropilot said:

hidetheelephants said:

eharding said:

aeropilot said:

The loss of the tug might be more of a problem than the Superbug........no doubt they have capacity to cope with short term downtime for tug maintenance/repair, but longer time might be an issue.......wonder when/where her next scheduled port stop is that they can fly a replacement out to her?

The Shipboard Tow Tractors (STT) don't look that large - possible to get a whole one delivered in the back of a COD or V-22, or maybe broken down into crated parts and reassembled on board?

Looks like the price just went up 25%, it's a vehicle and it's made in Germany.

Brilliant. Maybe they can use a Chevy pickup instead.

[Simpo Two]

hidetheelephants said:

Looks like the price just went up 25%, it's a vehicle and it's made in Germany.

'The STT is designed for the toughest operational conditions and passed over 120 performance and reliability tests with zero faults.'

Looks like they didn't do the 'going round a sharp corner in a carrier' test....

[Billy Eyelash]

Cold said:

An F/A-18E Super Hornet from USS Harry S. Truman has been lost overboard along with its tug(!) while being manoeuvred around the hangar.
Apparently the ship made a sharp turn to avoid Houthi fire and the pair went out the door. Just one minor injury reported.

"An investigation is underway" finished the statement from the US Navy. No chairs or biscuits required for that one.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/28/politics/us-nav...

Surely something is seriously wrong with the carrier's escorts if it has to make sudden manoeuvres to avoid action from the Houthis. How would it fare against a credible opponent

[Cold]

Simpo Two said:

hidetheelephants said:

Looks like the price just went up 25%, it's a vehicle and it's made in Germany.

'The STT is designed for the toughest operational conditions and passed over 120 performance and reliability tests with zero faults.'

Looks like they didn't do the 'going round a sharp corner in a carrier' test....

Who's to say it isn't still working? Just a bit wet.

[conkerman]

Simpo Two said:

'The STT is designed for the toughest operational conditions and passed over 120 performance and reliability tests with zero faults.'

Looks like they didn't do the 'going round a sharp corner in a carrier' test....

Seabourne Elk test!

[MesoForm]

Simpo Two said:

The Houti will take encouragement from the news, which I'm surprised was released.

Yeah this is a big deal - for a drone to get close enough to an aircraft carrier that it has to take evasive action is a major slip-up from the Americans point of view.

[Krikkit]

Billy Eyelash said:

Surely something is seriously wrong with the carrier's escorts if it has to make sudden manoeuvres to avoid action from the Houthis. How would it fare against a credible opponent

Indeed, all those layers of escorts and defensive systems coming to naught

[FourWheelDrift]

Have the Chinese recovered it yet?

[Jimbo.]

The US have already recovered it.