After two US Navy aircraft crashed into the South China Sea within 30 minutes of each other in October, analysts said there were lessons for the Chinese navy as it rapidly expands aircraft carrier operations.
They said the People’s Liberation Army could learn from its rival’s strengths in search and rescue response, but also its weaknesses in maintenance and training.
The US Navy said the aircraft – an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter and an F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet – went down in separate incidents on October 26 while “conducting routine operations”.
They were based on the USS Nimitz – the oldest American aircraft carrier which will soon be decommissioned after 50 years of service.
Three crew members in the helicopter and two personnel in the fighter jet had been rescued and were “safe and in stable condition”, the US Navy said.
It said an investigation was under way into what caused the two crashes.
