Overview

• Search operations began July 28 after a sailor was reported missing during Talisman Sabre 25 exercises off northwest Australia.
• USS Robert Smalls, USS Shoup, Helicopter Sea Squadron 12 and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 78, plus fixed-wing aircraft, conducted the initial search.
• Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force vessels and aircraft joined the effort in the Timor Sea.
• At 12:40 p.m. on July 30, the Navy called off active search efforts without locating the sailor.
• The service is withholding the sailor’s identity until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification and has offered crew support and condolences.