Two people are dead after an Apache helicopter crashed outside of Fort Hood, Texas, according to local authorities.

Emergency calls reporting the crash came in around 1:34 p.m. Central Standard Time, said Cliff Coleman, a spokesperson for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The individuals were pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m., he said, directing additional questions about the military statuses of the deceased to the Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division.

Fort Hood did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

Earlier in the afternoon, Fort Hood announced that an Apache helicopter crashed in Salado, outside of the base, and said that emergency services were involved.

“Our immediate priority is securing the site and supporting the initial response efforts,” said Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven, acting commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division. “Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information.”

A third U.S. service member is missing, the command release added, while four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The casualties in Friday’s attack bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 16.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

A U.S. Navy aircrewman is missing after a helicopter carrying four crew members made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, the Navy said.

The MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush, had an emergency water landing at 3:30 a.m. EDT. While the cause of the emergency landing wasn’t immediately clear, the Navy said it did not appear to be the result of any hostile activity.

“Three of the helicopter’s four crew members have been recovered and are in stable condition aboard George H. W. Bush,” the Navy said. “U.S. Navy assets in the region are currently searching for other aircrewman still missing.”

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

A B-52 aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff on Monday morning at the air base in California. Initial indications were that the incident was not survivable. On board were military personnel, government civilians and government contractors.

Officials confirmed their deaths late Monday evening but held off on releasing their names until 24 hours after their families were notified.

Boeing, the defense and aerospace company that designed and built the B-52s, announced that two of their employees were among the eight who perished in the routine test mission, which was conducted in support of the radar modernization program.

“It is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that I can now share the names of the eight extraordinary Americans we lost during Monday’s B-52 crash,” Col. Thomas Tauer, 412th Test Wing commander, said in a Wednesday release. “They were dedicated professionals, beloved family members and irreplaceable teammates.”

Col. Gregory Watson, 53, was a Boeing weapons systems officer from Shreveport, Louisiana, who was an Air Force reservist assigned to 10th Air Force in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, 40, was a weapons systems officer at Edwards Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment 5.

Maj. Alexander Davis, 34, was a weapon systems officer assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards and was from Lancaster, California.

Maj. Robert Dee, 40, was a pilot in the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards.

Maj. Brad Hovey, 35, was a pilot in the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards.

Retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, 50, was a Boeing pilot from Tehachapi, California.

Jeromy Smith, 32, was a flight test engineer in the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards and was from Rosamond, California.

Christopher Rischar, 41, was a flight test engineer and JT4 contractor from Lancaster, California.

“These Airmen were more than coworkers. They were friends, mentors, teammates and valued members of our Edwards and Air Force family,” Tauer said in the release.

Some family members of the fallen published fundraisers through GoFundMe for money to cover expenses. Lauren Smith, the widow of flight test engineer Jeromy Smith, has two GoFundMes that had garnered a combined total of over $67,000 as of Wednesday.

“The sudden loss has left Lauren facing unimaginable grief and uncertainty, as she tries to navigate life for herself and her children,” one of the post’s captions reads. “The family had just purchased their home together, and now Lauren is left to manage everything on her own, while caring for her two young boys.”

Pam Middleton, the widow of Boeing pilot Miles Middleton, also has a GoFundMe that was created by a family friend that had amassed over $110,000 as of Wednesday.

An Interim Safety Investigation Board is currently investigating the crash, the Air Force release said, and the Edwards airfield will remain closed until further notice.

At a Monday news conference, Edwards Deputy Commander Col. James Hayes said that a Safety Investigation Board will determine the cause of the crash, which can take around 30 days. Then, an Accident Investigation Board will take up to six months to determine what information can be released to the public and next of kin.

According to AirNav Systems, a website that tracks flights, the B-52 was in the air for only a short period of time and took a sharp right turn before crashing.

Gen. Ken Wilsbach, the Air Force chief of staff, said in a social media post Monday night that the force is grieving the loss of the individuals involved.

“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of eight teammates today at Edwards AFB,” Wilsbach said in the post. “My thoughts are with the bomber and test communities during this difficult time.”

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink also lamented the deaths in a public statement, saying, “We mourn this loss and honor the service of our Airmen, civilians, and contractors who work every day to advance our mission.”

At 11:20 a.m. local time, or 2:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the bomber aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff for a routine test mission and burst into flames, according to service officials. Initial indications of the crash were that it was not survivable.

Emergency personnel responded immediately to the scene, and as of late Monday were still working to account for all personnel, alongside base officials.

At a Monday afternoon news conference, Air Force officials said they were still attempting to locate personnel, as well as the aircraft’s black box, which could be used in the investigation of the incident.

The individuals on board were not all service members, Edwards Deputy Commander Col. James Hayes said at the news conference. The eight were a mix of military personnel, government civilians and contractors.

The crashed B-52 was in support of the radar modernization program, Hayes said.

The cause of the incident is still unknown, and it is currently under investigation by an interim safety board. The investigation will be taken over by a Safety Investigation Board that will determine the cause and will be followed by an Accident Investigation Board that will determine what information can be revealed to the public and next of kin.

The Air Force has yet to reveal the identities of the eight individuals. Teams were in the process of notifying family members by Monday afternoon.

The aircraft crashed shortly after its takeoff on Edwards Air Force Base at 11:20 a.m. local time, according to a base announcement.

The B-52 was carrying eight people on a routine test mission in support of the radar modernization program, according to the Air Force.

Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable, the service said, and officials were working late Monday to account for all personnel with the emergency response crew on scene.

The individuals on board were not all service members, Edwards Deputy Commander Col. James Hayes said at a Monday news conference. Those presumed dead in the crash include military personnel, government civilians and contractors.

Hayes declined to offer more details on the individuals, saying that teams were in the process of notifying family members.

The service did not have any indication as to the cause of the crash Monday, but the base is standing up an interim safety board to gather initial facts, Hayes told reporters. A Safety Investigation Board will then investigate the cause, which will take about 30 days.

An Accident Investigation Board will then commence a six-month process to determine what information can be released to the public and next of kin, he said.

Emergency responders first worked to dispel the flames from the crash. Then, it turned into a recovery operation that included searching for the aircraft’s black box that will be used in the investigation.

Roughly an hour and a half after the crash, Edwards closed the airfield and began diverting all inbound aircraft, according to a social media post.

“All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations,” the post reads.

Hayes said that the base is terminating operations for Tuesday, also, because of runway damage.

The Air Force has used the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress in various operations dating back to Vietnam.

Most recently, the aircraft flew missions as part of Operation Epic Fury against Iran, where the bomber carried out long-range air strikes targeting ballistic missile facilities and command-and-control infrastructure.

The B-52 is the Air Force’s oldest bomber in service and could potentially become the first military aircraft to remain in service for a century.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. military has also intercepted and shot down multiple Iranian drones that posed a similar threat.

The U.S. military strikes, which have not been previously reported, came during negotiations to end a three-month-old war that has killed thousands and sent global energy prices sharply higher since it began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday dismissed a Iranian state media report that Iran and Oman would jointly manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a peace deal. Trump said the waterway would remain open.

The U.S. last carried out what it called defensive strikes against Iran on Monday, in what Iran called a violation of the countries’ fragile ceasefire. The U.S. targets included boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites that the U.S. military’s Central Command said posed a threat to U.S. forces.

An Army official confirmed the decision Wednesday but did not provide details and referred all questions to the Defense Department, which did not respond to a request for information.

During a congressional hearing Tuesday on the Army’s budget posture, neither Army Secretary Dan Driscoll nor Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army vice chief of staff, mentioned the deployment cancellation.

But word already had started spreading early Tuesday morning among those affected, with soldiers texting friends and loved ones about the change.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said during his opening statement in the hearing that the Army faces a budget shortfall of at least $2 billion as a result of extended operations that include deployments of the Army National Guard to Washington, D.C., and units to participate in U.S. border control.

Reed wondered what the impact was on training and operations but the topic was not addressed.

According to ABC News, the Army budget shortfall is significantly larger than Reed’s estimate. In the report, Army officials told the outlet the amount actually is between $4 billion and $6 billion.

The Pentagon announced in April that it planned to withdraw roughly 5,000 troops from Germany. Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Secretary Pete Hegseth made the decision after reviewing “theater requirements and conditions on the ground.”

The move would bring U.S. troops levels in Europe to pre-2022 levels, before Russia invaded Ukraine and started a war that has killed more than 43,000 Ukrainian troops and at least 100,000 Russian service members, according to Every Casualty Counts, a British-based non-governmental organization that tracks conflict deaths.

More than 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland on rotation. The “Black Jack” brigade was expected to deploy for nine months. The Stars and Stripes reported that the Fort Hood, Texas-based tank brigade cased its colors May 1 in preparation for the deployment.

Portions of the 2^nd Armored Brigade Combat Team advanced echelon are already in Poland and equipment is in transit, according to the deployment plan.

Army officials from Fort Hood and U.S. Army Headquarters referred all questions to DoD, which declined to comment.

“We have no comment on this at this time,” the Pentagon press office wrote in an email to Army Times.

This is a developing news story. It will be updated as more information is made available.

Phelan, who this week attended the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space symposium in Washington, is departing the role “effective immediately,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced.

U.S. Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao, a former Virginia Senate candidate and special operations veteran, will assume the role of acting secretary of the Navy, Parnell added.

“On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy,” Parnell wrote. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

While the Pentagon provided no reason for the move in their initial announcement, a senior administration official told Military Times that “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the Navy is needed.”

“Secretary Hegseth informed John Phelan of this news prior to it being made public,” the official said.

Just yesterday, Phelan spoke with reporters at a media roundtable about the Navy’s prioritizing of ship building capacity as the service looks to double its vessel requests, according to the 2027 fiscal defense budget.

He also delivered a lengthy keynote address at the conference.

Phelan, who was confirmed as the Navy secretary in March 2025 by a 62-30 vote, was just the seventh non-veteran to serve in the role in the past 70 years.

A founder of the investment firm Rugger Management LLC, Phelan was the first service secretary pick to be announced by President Donald Trump following his return to the Oval Office. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, however, was the first service secretary to be confirmed.

Phelan’s abrupt dismissal comes as the sea service continues to grapple with the ongoing conflict with Iran and in the Strait of Hormuz. On Sunday, a U.S. Navy destroyer operating in the Arabian Sea enforced the service’s ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports when it fired its Mk-45 gun at a cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port.

Wednesday’s announcement also comes less than three weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and immediately retire.

That April 2 move involving George, one of three significant changes made by Hegseth on the same day, cut short George’s tenure, which began in September 2023, well before the end of the typical four-year term.

Gen. David Hodne, a former Army Ranger who had been overseeing the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, the Army chief of chaplains, were also removed from their roles on April 2.

Since taking office, Hegseth has fired over a dozen generals and admirals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

Phelan was the Navy’s 79th service secretary.

Cao, meanwhile, is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He deployed with special operations forces to Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia during a military career that spanned 25 years.

Military Times reporter Tanya Noury contributed to this report.

The A-10 pilot was subsequently rescued, two U.S. officials told The New York Times.

Iranian state media stated the A-10 was targeted in southern waters near the strait.

Reports of the A-10 going down Friday followed confirmation that a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle had been shot down by enemy fire.

One of two F-15E crew members had reportedly been rescued as of Friday afternoon. A search for the second crew member was ongoing.

Search-and-rescue efforts were launched in the immediate aftermath of the fighter jet crash, with videos circulating on social media appearing to show a low-flying U.S. Air Force HC-130 refueling a pair of HH-60G Pave Hawks over Iran.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday told Military Times “the president has been briefed” on the downed U.S. F-15E fighter jet.

The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Iranian state media on Friday shared images of aircraft debris alongside claims that Iran had downed a U.S. F-35 fighter jet.

However, images of the aircraft’s tailfin, specifically the red stripe on its vertical stabilizer, are consistent with markings used by the 494th Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing, based at RAF Lakenheath.

Iran also shared an image of an Advanced Concept Ejection Seat allegedly from the shot down F-15E.

The shoot-down of the F-15E marks the first time during Operation Epic Fury that a manned U.S. aircraft has been brought down by enemy fire.

A U.S. F-35 fighter jet was reportedly hit by enemy fire during a combat mission over Iran on March 19, but was able to make an emergency landing at a U.S. air base in the region.

Six U.S. airmen were killed on March 12 when their KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during combat operations.

On March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were shot down by a Kuwaiti F/A-18 in a friendly fire incident. All six F-15 crew members ejected and were safely recovered.

The A-10, meanwhile, has seen an increased role since the start of the Iran war. The attack aircraft has joined maritime interdiction operations, among other missions, along the southern edges of the conflict, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said last month.

Military Times reporter Michael Scanlon contributed to this report.