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U.S. Navy retires Bell TH‑57 Sea Ranger as Leonardo TH‑73A takes over training fleet

The U.S. Navy officially retired the Bell TH‑57 Sea Ranger after decades as the service’s primary rotary‑wing trainer, marking its final landing at the National Naval Aviation Museum in a sundown ceremony. The TH‑57 is being replaced across the training pipeline by the Leonardo TH‑73A Thrasher.

Discovered 2026-01-28T10:57:36.985766-08:00 | 2026-01-28T10:57:36.985766-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

The retirement closes a decades‑long era for the Navy’s primary helicopter trainer and signals a fleetwide transition that will reshape pilot throughput and syllabus logistics; see broader U.S. training modernization context training modernization.
Placement of the final airframe in the National Naval Aviation Museum highlights institutional preservation even as operational fleets continue to refresh; ongoing naval helicopter production and sustainment trends persist with active deliveries such as recent MH‑60R handovers MH‑60R deliveries.
The switch to a Leonardo platform ties procurement, training and industry supply chains to Leonardo’s rotorcraft footprint and activity in maritime/rotorcraft programs, reflected in its Proteus demonstrator work Proteus demonstrators.

Reported By

FlightGlobal avweb.com DVIDS / U.S. DoD