UPDATE 12/10/2024: Due to fog and incoming weather, Santa’s arrival has been delayed until Thursday, December 12, 2024 with the same times.
Even the best aviators know to respect the weather! Due to foggy conditions (and with Rudolph back at the North Pole), Adm. Claus and his HX-21 Blackjacks crew postponed their holiday mission over Southern Maryland.
Santa and his team can’t wait to spread holiday cheer on Thursday when the skies are clear!
Good boys and girls of all ages across Southern Maryland should keep their eyes on the skies as Adm. Saint Nicholas conducts pre-deployment mission planning over parts of Southern Maryland on Dec. 10 from 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. ET.
Regional residents looking up might spot Nicholas, known by his festive call sign “Claus,” as he soars through the skies aboard a U.S. Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter with his trusty elves and holiday helpers from NAWCAD’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (HX) 21.
“Delivering toys to children around the world takes careful planning and strategic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance,” said Claus during a pre-flight brief with HX-21 rotary pilots and aircrew. “The aviation pros at NAWCAD make prepping for the big night a little easier.”
Claus and the HX-21 crew will spread holiday cheer over the following regional locations:
11:00 – 11:30 a.m.
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River Beach House
- Driftwood Beach
- Patuxent Appeal Elementary School
- Dowell Elementary School
- Solomons Island Pier
11:30 – 12:00 p.m.
- Hollywood Elementary School
- Saint John’s Catholic School
- Captain Walter Francis Duke Elementary School
- Leonardtown Elementary School
- Leonardtown Wharf
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.
- Leonardtown Middle School
- Evergreen Elementary School
- Town Creek Elementary School
- Green Holly Elementary School
- Greenview Knolls Elementary School
- Lexington Park Elementary School
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
- George Washington Carver Elementary School
- Chesapeake Charter Public School
- Little Flower School
- Bay Montessori School
- Park Hall Elementary School
- Spring Ridge Middle School
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River Child Development Center
- Children are advised to be on their best behavior as Claus finalizes his naughty list ahead of upcoming operations on Christmas Eve.
As Rudolph rests up with the reindeer crew ahead of the holiday, inclement weather may delay Santa’s mission to Dec. 11 or Dec. 12, at the same time. Stay up-to-date on Santa Over Southern Maryland on the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Facebook page.
HX-21 is a component of Naval Test Wing Atlantic, the test wing for Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Nicknamed the “Blackjacks,” the squadron provides developmental flight test and evaluation for all U.S. Navy and Marine Corps rotary-wing and tilt-rotor aircraft. The Blackjacks are personal favorites of Claus, who tries to visit his HX-21 friends every year. Naval Air Station Patuxent River has been home to HX-21 since 1949.
