Washington: Two US Navy pilots were shot down on Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent "friendly fire" incident, the US military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both aviators were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken two-seat F/A-18 aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become, with ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The US military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time of the friendly fire incident, though the US military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what the pilots’ mission was. The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On December 15, Central Command acknowledged that Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn’t specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.
US launches investigation
“The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement. “This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.”
From the military’s description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. While Central Command referred to both as pilots, typically a two-seat F/A-18 has a pilot and a weapons officer on board.
How did Gettysburg mistake a F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile?
It wasn’t immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake a F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication. However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.
Since Truman’s arrival, 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 may spark renewed attacks from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.
(With inputs from agency)
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