US Navy Pilots Eject Safely after F/A-18 Jet is Shot Down in Friendly Fire Incident over Red Sea
Two US Navy pilots ejected safely after their F/A-18 fighter jet was mistakenly fired upon by the USS Gettysburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, over the Red Sea on Saturday. The incident was part of a friendly fire, not hostile fire, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
The pilots were recovered, and one of the crew members sustained minor injuries. The F/A-18 was operating from the USS Harry S. Truman when it was “mistakenly fired” upon. The Truman carrier strike group entered the waters of the Middle East one week ago.
A full investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. The US has maintained a near-constant presence of major Navy warships in the region since the start of the war in Gaza, as the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen has repeatedly made false claims of striking US warships operating in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The incident occurred the same day the US carried out airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, hitting a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility in the capital of Sana’a. The US also shot down one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile, according to CENTCOM.
On the same day, the Houthis fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at an Israeli military target in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa area, but it was intercepted and did not cause significant damage. Some 15 people were treated for minor injuries in the incident.
