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Navy Fighter Pilot Rescued From the Sea Off Virginia

Super Hornet
USN file image

Published Aug 21, 2025 4:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

On Wednesday morning, a U.S. Navy strike fighter went down during a routine training flight off the coast of Virginia, and the pilot was rescued from the sea after spending about an hour in the water. 

A Navy spokesperson confirmed that an F/A-18 Super Hornet from Virginia Beach-based Strike Fighter Squadron 83 was operating off the coast that morning, and at about 0950 hours, the pilot had to eject. The pilot survived, went into the water, and was found by Coast Guard SAR crews at 1121 hours. The rescuee was delivered to a hospital for a medical evaluation; the Navy has not provided further details on the pilot's condition. Given the rough surface conditions caused by Hurricane Erin in the mid-Atlantic, the pilot could have faced serious danger - and a challenging SAR scenario - if the timing or location had been different. 

The wreck of the aircraft remains on the bottom, the Navy said. The service often recovers downed fighters from the seabed in order to investigate crashes and deter espionage. 

It is the fourth Super Hornet that the Navy has lost since December. Three fighters assigned to the carrier USS Harry S. Truman were lost due to accidental causes during the Red Sea campaign in late 2023 and early 2024. 

At $67 million per unit, the Super Hornet is about 30 percent less expensive than the stealthy F-35C; the Hornet's heavy payload and long range make it the mainstay of the service's carrier strike capabilities. The platform is older and non-stealth, but the Navy expects to keep it for decades, and it ordered 17 more Super Hornets in 2024 to offset attrition in the fleet.