Topline
A U.S. missile cruiser shot down a Navy fighter jet in what military officials said was a “friendly fire” incident over the Red Sea on Sunday, as the U.S. military has increased its presence in the Red Sea to fight back against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman arrives in the French Mediterranean port of Marseille on … [+] Nov. 28. (Photo by Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Two Navy pilots safely ejected from their F/A-18 into the Red Sea, with one sustaining minor injuries, according to military officials cited by multiple reports.
The USS Gettysburg “mistakenly fired on” the jet shortly after it flew off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the U.S. military’s Central Command reportedly said.
The jet shot down was reportedly a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, according to the military’s description.
Central Command did not elaborate on how the mix-up occurred, but said the U.S. military earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship rebel cruise missile and that sailors in the past have had just seconds to make decisions about how to respond to Houthi attacks.
Key Background
U.S. military conducted strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, and around the port city of Hodeida on Saturday night and early Sunday. The strikes in Sanaa were targeting a “missile storage facility” and “command-and-control facility,” officials reportedly said. The Houthis have ramped up attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas war, claiming they target ships linked to the U.S., U.K. or Israel, though some of the ships have no connection to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Houthis have seized at least one vessel and sunk two others, including sinking a Belize-flagged ship off the coast of Yemen in March.
Further Reading
Who Are The Houthis? Yemen Group Behind Red Sea Attacks Are Hamas Allies (Forbes)
USS Mason Shoots Down Houthi Drone Amid Escalating Red Sea Conflict (Forbes)