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U.S. Navy Destroyer Fields MH-60R Helicopters Armed with Hellfire Missiles Over Gulf of Aden.
A newly released U.S. Navy photo shows sailors from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 79 loading an AGM-114 Hellfire missile onto an MH-60R Seahawk aboard the destroyer USS Roosevelt in the Gulf of Aden, an image taken on November 22 and posted by DVIDS on November 27.
On November 27, 2025, an official U.S. Navy photograph showed sailors from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 79 loading an AGM-114 Hellfire missile onto an MH-60R Sea Hawk aboard the destroyer USS Roosevelt in the Gulf of Aden, as reported by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS). The image, taken on November 22, comes after nearly two years of missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping by Yemen’s Houthi movement and sustained U.S.-led patrols in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. It offers a rare, explicit glimpse of how U.S. surface combatants are now deploying with helicopters armed for immediate use against seaborne threats. For U.S. readers, the photograph is more than a routine deck shot: it illustrates how a familiar weapon from past land campaigns is now central to maritime security and the protection of global trade routes.
A newly released U.S. Navy photo shows an MH-60R Sea Hawk on the destroyer USS Roosevelt in the Gulf of Aden being armed with an AGM-114 Hellfire missile, highlighting how forward-deployed American warships are keeping their helicopters ready to strike seaborne threats amid ongoing Houthi attacks on regional shipping (Picture Source: DVIDS)
The MH-60R Sea Hawk is the U.S. Navy’s primary multi-role maritime helicopter, designed to combine anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and surveillance in a single platform. Operating from Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like USS Roosevelt, it can carry a mix of Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes, sonobuoys, a 20 mm or 30 mm cannon, machine guns and up to eight Hellfire missiles on its stub wings. In the Gulf of Aden, where threats range from fast attack boats to explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels (USVs), this loadout transforms the helicopter into a forward picket and precision strike asset for the ship’s commander. The DVIDS image shows this reality in concrete form: an aircraft configured not for training, but for rapid engagement in a zone where recent Houthi missile attacks have severely damaged merchant vessels and forced evacuations of civilian crews.
Operationally, the integration of the MH-60R helicopter with Hellfire missiles represents decades of accumulated experience and strategic refinement. The MH-60R “Romeo” variant, introduced in the mid-2000s, succeeded the earlier SH-60B/F models by consolidating multiple mission roles into a single advanced platform. Originally designed as an anti-armor weapon, the Hellfire missile has been adapted for naval use, providing effective engagement capability against dynamic, small-surface threats. This capability was demonstrated in December 2023, when U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopters defending a destroyer group in the Red Sea successfully neutralized Houthi small boats attempting to seize a merchant vessel, highlighting the critical role of armed naval aviation in littoral combat environments. Concurrently, the U.S. military is transitioning to the AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM), a multi-sensor system compatible with current launchers, poised to enhance naval helicopter strike versatility in the near term.
From a tactical standpoint, arming the MH‑60R with Hellfire missiles in the Gulf of Aden provides clear advantages beyond the destroyer’s organic guns and missiles. The helicopter expands the ship’s surveillance and strike envelope well past the horizon, employing radar, electro‑optical sensors, and datalinks to detect and classify small craft or unmanned surface vessels that might otherwise blend into dense maritime traffic. Once a threat is confirmed and engagement criteria are met, the MH‑60R can deliver precision strikes at stand‑off range, reducing risk to the ship and crew while limiting collateral effects near commercial shipping. This airborne capability also conserves high‑value surface‑to‑air missiles and gun ammunition for more complex threats, such as cruise missiles or large unmanned aerial systems, by assigning the helicopter the role of “small‑target” hunter closer to the source of danger.
Strategically, the armed helicopter on Roosevelt’s flight deck is a visible component of a broader U.S. posture aimed at keeping the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden open to international shipping amid ongoing instability in Yemen and wider regional tensions. Operation Prosperity Guardian, led by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command from late 2023 to mid-2025, formalized multinational escort and protection efforts for merchant traffic after repeated Houthi attacks disrupted global trade through the Suez route. Although a ceasefire announced in May 2025 reduced direct confrontation between U.S. forces and the Houthis, subsequent incidents such as the missile strike on the Dutch-flagged Minervagracht show that the threat to commercial vessels has not fully disappeared, and that attacks have spread from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden itself. In this environment, the deployment of a Rota-based destroyer like USS Roosevelt, documented by U.S. Navy sources in November 2025, underscores Washington’s intent to maintain a credible, armed presence along one of the world’s most critical maritime choke points and to reassure allies and shipping companies that escorting navies retain both reach and escalation options at short notice.
The image of HSM-79 installing a Hellfire missile serves as a clear representation of the U.S. Navy's strategic evolution in response to an increasingly complex and threat-intensive maritime environment. Once a missile designed for armored combat on land, the Hellfire now forms a critical component of a multi-layered sea control framework, spanning from carrier air wings and patrol aircraft to individual helicopters aboard destroyers. Given the persistent capability and intent of armed groups in Yemen and elsewhere to target commercial shipping, U.S. surface combatants will likely maintain fully armed embarked helicopters, poised to transition swiftly from deterrence to active defense. This readiness is vital to safeguarding one of the globe's most vital maritime trade routes.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.