US Navy Helicopters in 2026: Every Type Still Flying, and the Ones It Retired

The US Navy flies five helicopter types in 2026, and two of them do almost all the work. The MH-60R and MH-60S Seahawks cover submarine hunting, rescue, resupply and mine hunting from nearly every ship in the fleet.

The other three are specialists. The MH-53E Sea Dragon sweeps mines until its planned retirement by the end of 2027, the TH-73A Thrasher trains every new helicopter pilot, and the UH-72A Lakota teaches test pilots.

What the Navy does not fly surprises most readers. Marine One, the CH-53K King Stallion and the H-1 family of attack and utility helicopters all belong to the Marine Corps, which is why so many “Navy helicopter” lists get it wrong.

US Navy helicopters in service today

The Navy’s helicopter fleet is far simpler than it was a generation ago. In the early 1990s it ran Sea Kings, Seasprites, Sea Knights, three Seahawk models and Sea Dragons side by side, and today two Seahawk models have absorbed nearly all of those jobs.

1. MH-60R Seahawk “Romeo”

The MH-60R Seahawk is the Navy’s primary anti-submarine and surface warfare helicopter. NAVAIR describes it as able to operate “from any aviation ship or air-capable vessel,” from destroyers to aircraft carriers.

It hunts submarines with sonar and attacks them with Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes. Against ships and small boats it carries AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.

The Romeo reached initial operational capability in December 2005 and full operational capability in 2010, replacing both the SH-60B and SH-60F. It is 64 feet 10 inches long and weighs 15,170 pounds (6,880 kg) empty and 23,500 pounds (10,660 kg) at maximum gross weight, powered by two GE T700 turboshafts.

It is still being built. Lockheed Martin delivered its 350th MH-60R on January 13, 2026, to the fleet replacement squadron HSM-41 at NAS North Island in San Diego. Seven countries fly the type, including Australia, India and South Korea.

2. MH-60S Seahawk “Sierra”

The MH-60S is the Navy’s utility and combat support helicopter. Its official name is also Seahawk, but crews often call it the “Knighthawk,” a nod to the H-46 Sea Knight it replaced.

NAVAIR lists its missions as anti-surface warfare, combat search and rescue, medical evacuation, special warfare support, disaster relief and airborne mine countermeasures. Day to day, it also flies vertical resupply, moving cargo between ships at sea.

It entered service in 2002 and NAVAIR lists an inventory of 256 aircraft. It shares the Romeo’s 64-foot 10-inch length and 23,500-pound (10,660 kg) maximum gross weight, with a top speed of 180 knots and a range of 245 nautical miles.

The MH-60S is also taking over the Sea Dragon’s mine job. It can carry the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System, which spots floating and shallow mines with a laser, and the Airborne Mine Neutralization System, which drops a remote-controlled explosive vehicle to destroy them.

3. MH-53E Sea Dragon

The MH-53E Sea Dragon is the Navy’s biggest helicopter and its dedicated airborne mine countermeasures platform. It tows minesweeping sleds and mine-hunting sonar through the water behind it, a job that needs the power of three engines.

NAVAIR lists a fuselage length of 73 feet 4 inches, a maximum gross weight of 69,750 pounds (31,640 kg) and three General Electric T64-GE-419 turboshafts of 4,750 shaft horsepower each. It is the Navy’s mine-hunting derivative of the Marine Corps’ CH-53E Super Stallion.

The Sea Dragon is in its last years. HM-14 flew its final MH-53E mission on December 8, 2022, and HM-12, the training squadron, held its sundown ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk on March 21, 2025.

That leaves HM-15 “Blackhawks” at Norfolk as the only squadron still flying it. As of May 2026, the fleet was scheduled for complete retirement by the end of 2027, with the MH-60S and uncrewed underwater vehicles taking over mine clearance.

4. TH-73A Thrasher

Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard helicopter and tiltrotor pilots now learn to fly on the TH-73A Thrasher, a military version of the Leonardo AW119. The first one arrived at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida, on August 6, 2021.

It is a single-engine helicopter with a Pratt & Whitney PT6B-37A turboshaft and a modern cockpit meant to reflect the aircraft students will fly in the fleet. It measures 42 feet 5 inches (12.92 m) with rotors turning and weighs 3,325 pounds (1,508 kg) empty.

Leonardo delivered the 100th Thrasher in September 2024, and NAVAIR expects the type to serve for about 30 years. It replaced the Bell TH-57 Sea Ranger, whose last training flight was on September 19, 2025.

5. UH-72A Lakota

The Navy’s smallest helicopter fleet sits at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The US Naval Test Pilot School flies the UH-72A Lakota, the Army’s light utility helicopter built by Airbus, to teach students rotary-wing flying qualities and test techniques.

NAVAIR also lists the TH-67 Creek, the Army trainer developed from the Bell 206 JetRanger, as a test pilot school aircraft.

Helicopters people think are Navy, but are not

The Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy, and NAVAIR buys aircraft for both services. That shared paperwork is why Marine helicopters so often show up on “Navy helicopter” lists, including the earlier version of this page.

Marine One. The presidential helicopters are flown by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1). The VH-92A Patriot, built to replace the VH-3D Sea King and VH-60N White Hawk, made its first flight as Marine One on August 19, 2024, and 23 were built.

Heavy lift and attack. The CH-53K King Stallion, the CH-53E Super Stallion, the AH-1Z Viper and the UH-1Y Venom are Marine Corps aircraft. The Navy has no dedicated attack helicopter at all.

The Osprey. The Navy does fly the CMV-22B Osprey for carrier onboard delivery, flying people and cargo out to carriers. It lands like a helicopter, but it is a tiltrotor, not a helicopter.

For the full picture across the Army, Air Force and Marines, see our guide to the types of military helicopters.

Retired US Navy helicopters

Here is when each of the Navy’s recent helicopter types left service.

The SH-3 Sea King was the Navy’s carrier submarine hunter for decades, and the Seahawk replaced it in that role during the 1990s. Reserve units kept flying it for transport and rescue until 2006.

The SH-2 Seasprite hunted submarines from frigates and destroyers before the Seahawk. The Navy’s last SH-2Gs, flown by reserve squadrons, retired in 2001, though the G model still flies with other navies.

The Fire Scout is the odd one out. It was an uncrewed helicopter, and FlightGlobal reported in May 2024 that the Navy was retiring the MQ-8C just two years after it entered operational service, after spending nearly $1.5 billion developing it.

A short history of Navy helicopters

The Navy’s first helicopters were Sikorsky HNS-1s, the naval version of the Army’s R-4, the world’s first mass-produced helicopter. Coast Guard pilots flying them soon showed what a helicopter could do at sea.

For the fixed-wing aircraft that share the flight deck with these helicopters, see our guide to the types of Navy planes.

What replaces the Seahawk?

According to the Navy, the MH-60R and MH-60S will begin to reach the end of their service lives in the late 2030s, after service life extensions for both. Their replacement is a program called Future Vertical Lift (Maritime Strike), or FVL (MS).

It is not planned as one helicopter. The Navy describes FVL (MS) as a family of crewed and uncrewed aircraft that will do today’s helicopter missions with more range and endurance, drawing on the Army’s Future Vertical Lift work.

The program has passed its Gate 2 requirements review and is aiming for initial operational capability in the early 2040s. Until then, the Seahawk will remain the only helicopter most sailors ever see at sea.