US shoots down two of its own navy pilots in Red Sea in ‘apparent friendly fire’ incident | US military

Two US navy pilots were shot down in the Red Sea on Sunday in an “apparent case of friendly fire”, the US military said, marking the worst incident to threaten troops in more than one years the country targeting the Houthis in Yemen.

The two pilots were saved alive after being ejected from their hit plane, with one suffering minor injuries. But the incident highlights how dangerous the Red Sea Corridor done amid ongoing shipping attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis though US and European military coalitions patrol the area.

The US military conducted airstrikes targeting the Houthis in Yemen at the time, although the military’s Central Command (Centcom) did not detail what their mission was.

The F/A-18 that was shot down had just taken off from the deck of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, Centcom said. On December 15, Centcom acknowledged that the Truman had entered the Middle East, but did not specify that the carrier and its battle group were in the Red Sea.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group, misfired and was hit by an F/A-18,” Centcom said in a statement. The incident is being investigated.

From the military’s description, the plane shot down was a two-seater F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of strike fighter quadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia.

It was not immediately clear how Gettysburg could have mistaken an F/A-18 for an enemy plane or missile, especially when the ships of a battle group remained connected by radar and radio communications.

However, Centcom said warships and aircraft had earlier shot down several Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. The incoming enemy fire from the Houthis gave the sailors a few seconds to make decisions in the past.

Since the arrival of Truman, the The US has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group could provoke new attacks from the rebels, as seen by the USS Dwight D Eisenhower earlier this year. The deployment marked what the navy described as the worst battle since the second world war.

On Saturday night and early Sunday, US warplanes carried out airstrikes that shook Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, which has been held by the Houthis since 2014. Centcom described the strikes as targeted a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control”. facility”.

Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in Sana’a and around the port city of Hodeida, without providing any casualty or damage information. In Sana’a, the strikes appeared to be particularly targeted on a side of the mountain known to be home to military installations. The Houthis later identified the aircraft as being shot down over the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023.

The Houthis seized one ship and sank two in a campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones may have been intercepted by separate US-led and European coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which also included western military vessels.

The rebels maintain that they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked had little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have additionally targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.