A Royal Navy Merlin helicopter has crashed in a field near Sourton, close to Okehampton in Devon, in the early hours of 3 June 2026, the UK Defence Journal understands.

The Ministry of Defence said the incident happened just before 4am, with emergency services on the scene from around 4.30am.

“An incident occurred involving a Royal Navy helicopter just before 4am on Wednesday, June 3 near Sourton, Devon,” a Royal Navy spokesperson said. “An investigation is underway and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

Devon and Cornwall Police said multiple crews were in the area and that several road closures were in place around the A386 and the A30 Sourton Cross slip road and services. The force described the incident as ongoing and advised drivers to seek alternative routes, while travel monitoring services reported that traffic was coping well despite the closures. People living nearby were reported to have heard a loud bang.

Fred Thomas, the local Member of Parliament, said he was aware of reports of the incident and of the road closures while emergency services responded, adding that it would not be appropriate to comment further until the Ministry of Defence released more information.

Neither the Navy nor the police have commented on whether anyone was aboard the aircraft or on any casualties, and the cause of the crash has not been established. The MoD said it would be inappropriate to comment further while the investigation was under way.

The Merlin is the Royal Navy’s principal helicopter, operated in two main forms: the Merlin Mk2, flown from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall in the anti-submarine and airborne surveillance roles, and the Merlin Mk4, a battlefield transport flown by the Commando Helicopter Force from RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset.

The three-engined aircraft has generally held a good safety record over its service life.

George Allison
George Allison
George Allison is the founder and editor of the UK Defence Journal. He holds a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and specialises in naval and cyber security topics. George has appeared on national radio and television to provide commentary on defence and security issues. Twitter: @geoallison
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52 COMMENTS

  1. Images of the wreckage circulating on Twitter appear to show a total loss of the aircraft. As in, in pieces.

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  3. Yes, photos on SM countless pieces.
    I’m hoping that as it all looks pretty localised rather than a Chinook Mull scenario with debris widely scattered means it came in slow and hopefully crew and pax got out.

  5. Problem with small fleets, helicopters crash and need replacements.

    It’s starting to look like we may replace Merlin with new Merlins though which I think would be a great call. There is still nothing in the world that can touch it.

    • Agreed.
      But when was the last time HMG paced attrition replacement orders for anything beyond munitions and missiles?
      I remember additional Tornado being ordered. A couple of Merlin? Cannot see it.

      • We didn’t spring for an additional F-35B to replace the 2021 loss, and I don’t think they’re including an additional one in the planned order.

        • I know.
          This sort of small attrition order thing has been on my radar for a long time, simply because I remember reading many times of Japan doing such a thing, Fiscal Year — 2 of this, 3 of that.
          Incremental changes.
          I can think of our 4 C17 leased then doubled and bought, extra Shadow which never arrived.
          But not orders for attrition loses.

              • Interesting, I must’ve missed it. So, the incoming order should be 16 F-35B and 12 F-35A, not 15 F-35B and 12 F-35A reported?

                • If that does become the order then the 15th F35B is the replacement. The original intention was for 26 F35Bs. Then it was 27 to include a replacement. So if its 12 As and 15 Bs then that includes a replacement. Giving us 62 F35Bs and the 12 As.

      • A mention via the Norwegian press that, through the City Class purchase and integration, that they would buy some more AW101s for their Frigates and it’s also to plug the issue with the NH90 failings and the Seahawks they did purchase are for their coast guard, not their Navy.

        Hoping that someone in the MoD might just tack on 2 more helos to that order from our side, if it is a joint order.

      • Hi M8,
        We better just pray for the 3 crew members that have died and their loved ones but also hope that the underlying cause isn’t something really serious.
        As for the future surely even our Muppets have enough sense to see an opportunity when they see it ? The UK, Italy, Japan and Norway all operate the EH101 and there is damn all in the West that comes close to its capabilities. And we will all need to order something in the next few years to replace / add to what we already have.
        Just latching half a dozen new Generation orders to a Norwegian order would probably get things moving, followed by another batch etc etc.

        • Hi mate.
          Agree, I place Merlin over additional F35.
          Sadly, I’ve no faith in the imbeciles who run this nation that such a thing is forthcoming.

          • RN will never will and has never bought a single Merlin beyond the launch order they had to buy.
            The RN didn’t want them, they are a nightmare – over complex, impossible to upgrade, marginal performance.

            • Interesting take.
              Marginal performance.
              From an asset considered one of the best ASW helicopters!
              Impossible to upgrade. Yet 30 of the original 44 were upgraded from HM1 to HM2, so what’s that about?
              Glad other nations think they’re that bad that they bought them.
              What would have been your choice?

              • Rotor disc is simply too small for such a large helo. Merlin grew from a Sea King sized twin engine into a much bigger 3 engines helo on the same rotor area.
                It has to rotate very fast – you simply cannot feed much extra power into the rotor and even if you could fit bigger engines the gearbox runs at max capacity

            • I’ve read several interviews with Merlin pilots, most of them love it because it’s so much more capable than all other ASW helicopters. The one I have in front of me at the moment says it has better climb performance than a Blackhawk and while the ESM needs upgrading and the civvie navigation systems aren’t great there’s no reason why they couldn’t be changed.
              The 3 engine thing is slightly odd though given the CH-53 and the Chinook both make do with 2.

              • It has far more power to run electronics such as sonar or radar.

                Merlin was a quantum leap forwards in helicopter design.

                You could write a book about how the development costs fiasco shaped UK attitude to Typhoon….

              • However…. The Merlin Mk4 is not being used as a cruise around ASW helicopter.
                It’s considered a very ‘hot’ helicopter – it plenty of power, but it hasn’t plenty of excess lift, it’ gets its performance by driving the rotor disk very very fast. It’s also a very big helo.
                UH-60’s have plenty of excess lift at slow speeds, their rotor diameter isn’t much less than a Merlin’s on a helo 50% the weight. This makes them very agile and safe to Chuck about near the deck.
                Yes, Merlin’ a great ASW helicopter, but it’s nearly as big as a Chinook – a helo with massive reserves of excess power and lift.

        • ABCR,
          Indeed, sincere condolences to the three families devastated by losses from a training accident. Not knowledgeable re UK military benefits packages, but presume families will be provided for by some combination of life insurance and pension benefits.
          This incident prompted my Google query re the status of the accident investigation board final report of the 4 Sep 24 Merlin Mk4 ditching, which occurred while conducting training exercise/mission, originating from HMS QNLZ. Did not realize the report from the independent Defence Accident Investigation Board (DAIB) of the UK Defence Safety Authority has not been finalized. Typically, there are multiple causal factors cited in Class A mishaps. Would anticipate an extensive and somewhat lengthy investigation. Private concern would be possible implications of inherent limitations of current gen NVGs. Not certain gen public truly comprehends the potential hazards involved in night, nap-of-the-earth flight profiles. Personally, always experienced a considerable “pucker factor,” even during the occasional routine test mission.

    • An AW101NG would probably be a good idea, the concept of a large ASW helicopter is still sound but engine reliability seems to be impacting the safety record to a certain extent. While it’s too early to speculate on this one the crash off the south coast was supposedly due to double engine failure.

      • Those huge rear view mirrors on a Merlin were fitted to allow the crew to see the engines after a previous engine failure crash –

  6. The photos don’t look good. I’m praying everyone got out safely. Another Merlin lost however and the fleet shrinks further. Meanwhile the government’s calls to rearm still seem to be all bark and no bite.

    • There was a long ago mention via the Norwegian press that, through the City Class purchase and owing to integration, that they would buy some more AW101s for their Frigates and it’s also to plug the issue with the NH90 failings and the Seahawks they did purchase are for their coast guard, not their Navy.

      Hoping that someone in the MoD might just tack on 2 more helos to that order from our side, if it is a joint order.

      • Great idea but the AW101 currently in production at LHUK are not the same variant as the present EH101 in Service. The EH101 is a 500 series aircraft which is not the vastly improved 600 series AW101 built for Norway and Poland and currently in build for Canada and Japan. If the MoD did buy more, then they might look at the AW101 replacing the entire EH101 Fleet when in-Service life end approaches. One can only hope.

  7. … So the photos are out there and the MOD has yet to comment. Might they want to hurry up with a statement, even if to say that the Crew aren’t in the wreck, so at the very least UK papers might not air their bodies final resting place.

    • Britain’s only serving female RM Commando, one of only 7 women to do so, Lily-Mae Fisher had completed the AACC in a break from flying training. An MSC from ICL. Then
      represented the UK at sports at Junior level, spent time as a geologist.
      Was due to complete flying training shortly.
      Oh no…..😒

      • Absolute tragedy but the media do seem to be focusing on her loss mainly, which is entirely wrong as all three families have suffered equally. Taking nothing away from her and her achievements of course but I do feel a little more decorum, sensitivity and respect could be shown.
        RIP all.

  16. Tragic loss for the Royal Navy and the families of the deceased. This sadly also points to the wider issue of having small fleets that need to be worked even harder when airframes are lost and there is little/no hope of replacement.

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