2023 Red Sea Crisis

MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis

U.S. Navy imagery documents MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopters in the Red Sea Crisis as shipboard support aircraft for Operation Prosperity Guardian, including vertical replenishment and search-and-rescue training with HSC-7.

Weapon profileMH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter
SideUnited States-led coalitionRoleMobility & LogisticsForce Protection
MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, Multi-mission maritime helicopter, Aircraft & UAVs - 2023 Red Sea Crisis
Image source: USS Mason Sailors Conduct Routine Operations in Support of Operation Prosperity Guardian

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
A U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk was present aboard USS Mason in the Red Sea during Operation Prosperity Guardian on December 22, 2023.

Sources: DVIDS Mason MH-60S OPG

An MH-60S Sea Hawk from HSC-7 delivered supply pallets to USS Mason during a January 8, 2024 vertical replenishment with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea.

Sources: DVIDS Mason Eisenhower VERTREP

HSC-7 aircrew conducted search-and-rescue training aboard an MH-60S Sea Hawk in the Red Sea on February 15, 2024.

Sources: DVIDS Eisenhower SAR Training

Operation Prosperity Guardian was a multinational Red Sea and Gulf of Aden maritime-security initiative under Combined Maritime Forces and Task Force 153.

Sources: Operation Prosperity Guardian Statement

Timeline

MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter In 2023 Red Sea Crisis

  1. Operation Prosperity Guardian announced

    The U.S. Department of Defense announced Operation Prosperity Guardian under Combined Maritime Forces and Task Force 153 to address maritime-security challenges in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

    Sources: Operation Prosperity Guardian Statement

  2. MH-60S documented aboard USS Mason

    DVIDS imagery placed an MH-60S Seahawk aboard USS Mason while the destroyer operated in support of Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea.

    Sources: DVIDS Mason MH-60S OPG

  3. HSC-7 MH-60S conducts vertical replenishment

    An HSC-7 MH-60S Sea Hawk delivered pallets of supplies to USS Mason during a vertical replenishment with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea.

    Sources: DVIDS Mason Eisenhower VERTREP

  4. HSC-7 search-and-rescue training documented

    DVIDS documented HSC-7 aircrew returning after search-and-rescue training aboard an MH-60S Sea Hawk in the Red Sea during the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group deployment.

    Sources: DVIDS Eisenhower SAR Training

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

The MH-60S Sea Hawk is directly documented in the 2023 Red Sea Crisis through official U.S. Navy imagery from Operation Prosperity Guardian. On December 22, 2023, DVIDS placed an MH-60S Seahawk aboard USS Mason in the Red Sea while the destroyer operated in support of Operation Prosperity Guardian.

A second DVIDS record from January 8, 2024 identifies an MH-60S Sea Hawk attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 7 delivering pallets of supplies to USS Mason during a vertical replenishment with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea. That record supports operational use as shipboard logistics, not a documented strike or interception event.

Sources: DVIDS Mason MH-60S OPG, DVIDS Mason Eisenhower VERTREP

Timeline

Operation Prosperity Guardian was announced on December 18, 2023 as a multinational maritime-security initiative under Combined Maritime Forces and Task Force 153 for the Red Sea, southern Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden security challenge.

Four days later, an MH-60S was photographed aboard USS Mason in the Red Sea during Operation Prosperity Guardian. On January 8, 2024, HSC-7 used an MH-60S to move supply pallets to Mason during a vertical replenishment with Eisenhower. On February 15, 2024, another official Navy image documented HSC-7 aircrew returning from search-and-rescue training aboard an MH-60S in the Red Sea while the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

Sources: Operation Prosperity Guardian Statement, DVIDS Mason MH-60S OPG, DVIDS Mason Eisenhower VERTREP, DVIDS Eisenhower SAR Training

Narrative

In the public Red Sea record, the MH-60S appears as a U.S. Navy shipboard support helicopter inside the Operation Prosperity Guardian maritime-security mission. The documented tasks were vertical replenishment, embarked support, and search-and-rescue training around U.S. naval forces operating in the Red Sea.

The available MH-60S-specific sources do not document the variant firing weapons, sinking boats, or intercepting Houthi drones or missiles in this conflict. They support fielding and operational support by U.S. Navy helicopters while destroyers and the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group operated in the Red Sea campaign.

Sources: DVIDS Mason MH-60S OPG, DVIDS Mason Eisenhower VERTREP, DVIDS Eisenhower SAR Training

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Sources