BEST OF THE WEB: Did China down two US Navy aircraft in the South China Sea?

BEST OF THE WEB: Did China down two US Navy aircraft in the South China Sea?

Comment: Spoiler alert: yes they probably did! Accident or Attack? In what is considered a highly unusual event, two U.S. naval aircraft flying from the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz (CVN 68), an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter crashed within a 30-minute time span in the volatile South China Sea on Sunday. Comment: To be clear that's Sunday 26 October 2025. This is the fourth F/A-18 that the navy has lost this year. …

PLA jet endangers Australian patrol plane in latest confrontation over South China Sea

FORUM Staff A Chinese fighter jet deployed flares dangerously close to a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) surveillance plane in October 2025, the latest salvo in Beijing’s increasingly belligerent effort to buttress its presence in the South China Sea. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Su-35’s aggressive maneuver near an RAAF P-8A Poseidon on a routine …