The US is trying to get a plane and a helicopter out of the sea before China gets to them — CNN

The US Navy is trying to get its plane and helicopter from the bottom of the South China Sea until the Chinese get to them. This is reported by CNN.

According to American experts, these combat vehicles can transfer confidential information to China if it gets to them first.

The Navy confirmed to CNN on Friday that the rescue vessel is now in the South China Sea, without specifying the exact place where the cars crashed and where the ship itself is now.

"The USNS SALVOR (T-ARS 52), a Safeguard—class rescue vessel operated by the Maritime Transportation Command, is at the scene and is conducting operations in support of rescue efforts," said Matthew Comer, a spokesman for the 7th Fleet of the Navy in Japan.

It is noted that Salvor is capable of lifting objects weighing up to 300 tons from the seabed. The maximum take-off weight of the latest F/A-18 models on Nimitz is about 33 tons, and the MH—60 is about 11 tons.

Although neither the F/A-18 nor the MH-60 are the most advanced aircraft of the Navy, experts believe that the wreckage can give the enemy useful information if they fall into his hands.

"The acquisition of the fuselage and the remaining systems ... (can) provide valuable information about its technological advantages and tactical confrontation," said Karl Schuster, former head of the Joint Intelligence Center of the US Pacific Command.

According to him, if the F/A-18 is at the disposal of China, Beijing will be able to obtain information that will help it improve the carrier-based J-15T fighters of the PLA Navy, not as modern as the F/A-18. As for the MH-60 helicopter, it is equipped with anti-submarine systems, which are probably more advanced than the China.

"China is now prioritizing the modernization of its anti-submarine warfare systems. Therefore, the return of this helicopter should have a high priority," Shuster stressed.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter and the MH-60 helicopter crashed 30 minutes apart near the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during routine operations at the end of October, the TV channel reminds. All crew members were rescued. The official cause of the disasters is not reported, however, US President Donald Trump suggested shortly after the incidents during a conversation with journalists that contaminated fuel could be the cause.

"CNN cannot confirm whether China is making any attempts to get to the lost American aircraft," the publication says.