The carrier has verified that the video of the F-35C as it approached and the photos of it after it fell in the sea were taken aboard the ship. MH-60R Seahawk helicopters assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 49 conducted aerial damage assessments and air-dropped supplies to the local population. The interdictions were just the latest in the volatile waters of the Persian Gulf. The exercise marked the first time an amphibious ready group has operated with an “advanced Air Wing of the Future,” according to the Navy. The Vinson and its carrier strike group departed San Diego in August 2021. The seizure caps a busy year for drug interdiction missions in U.S 5th Fleet waters. The vessel was traveling "along a route historically used to traffic weapons unlawfully to the Houthis in Yemen,” the Navy said. Dozens of officials face potential discipline for failing to stop last year's fatal inferno. The coastal patrol ship Sirocco ultimately seized approximately $14.7 million worth of hashish, methamphetamine and heroin from the vessel. Hard and tedious work by USS Miguel Keith's crew last month kept the brand-new sea base underway. Load More