U.S. Central Command on Tuesday forcefully denied Iranian state media reports claiming that an American Navy helicopter crashed into the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia after declaring an emergency.
The reports centered on an MH-60R Seahawk that was tracked flying near Yanbu, a Saudi port city along the Red Sea coast, on Monday evening. Publicly available flight-tracking data showed the helicopter declaring an emergency before disappearing from the tracking service, prompting speculation about the aircraft’s fate.
Iranian state media quickly seized on the incident, with reports suggesting the helicopter had gone down in the Red Sea.
CENTCOM says that did not happen.
“Reports of a downed U.S. Navy helicopter in the Red Sea are not true,” the command said Tuesday.
“All U.S. military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East are safe and accounted for,” CENTCOM added, directly rejecting the reports being circulated by Iranian outlets.
The helicopter, identified as a Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk operating under the call sign VVHR512, reportedly declared an emergency at roughly 5:20 p.m. ET Monday while flying near Yanbu.
CLAIM: Iranian state media has been pushing false reports that a U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopter crashed in the Red Sea after declaring an emergency last night.
FACT: Reports of a downed U.S. Navy helicopter in the Red Sea are not true. All U.S. military aircraft and personnel across the Middle East are safe and accounted for.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 6, 2026
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft flying at approximately 475 feet when the emergency was declared. Its displayed altitude later dropped to zero before the helicopter disappeared from publicly available tracking data.
The unusual sequence initially fueled questions about whether the aircraft had experienced a serious mechanical problem or potentially gone down. The reason for the emergency declaration has not been publicly disclosed.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency published a report Tuesday morning stating that the helicopter had “likely” crashed, pointing to the flight-tracking data and the aircraft’s disappearance from the service. Other Iranian outlets circulated similar claims before CENTCOM issued its denial.
The military command went a step further by accusing Iranian state media of spreading false information about the incident.
“CLAIM: Iranian state media has been pushing false reports that a U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopter crashed in the Red Sea after declaring an emergency last night,” CENTCOM said.
The command then labeled the claim false and confirmed American military personnel and aircraft in the region had been accounted for.
The MH-60R Seahawk is one of the Navy’s primary maritime helicopters and is designed to operate from aircraft carriers and other Navy vessels. Its missions include anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare, command and control, search and rescue and intelligence operations.
The dispute comes during heightened military tensions across the Middle East, where American forces continue to operate throughout the region amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Iranian media outlets have closely tracked reported incidents involving U.S. military aircraft throughout the conflict, making Monday night’s emergency declaration an immediate focus.
While CENTCOM has now made clear that no American helicopter crashed or was shot down, officials have not publicly explained what caused the MH-60R to declare an emergency or why it disappeared from civilian flight-tracking systems.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
