Marine helicopter ditches large steel target in ocean off Okinawa

A Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion ditched a large steel target into the ocean by Torii Station, Okinawa, when it became unstable, a Marine Corps spokesman confirmed Thursday.

At roughly 1 p.m. the Marine helicopter was externally transporting a steel framed “environmentally friendly” target designed to look like a surface to air missile when it somehow became unstable and the flight crew decided to ditch the target over the ocean, according to a press release from the 1st Marine Air Wing.

No Marines were injured and the cause of the incident is still under investigation, Maj. Ken Kunze, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Air Wing, told Marine Corps Times in an email.

“The Air Force is currently planning to evaluate the status of the structure before making a determination on recovery,” Kunze said. “The structure belongs to the Air Force."

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