US Navy pilots eject from jets into the Red Sea in a friendly fire incident

On By Littum

Upper line

A US missile cruiser shot down a naval fighter jet in what military officials said was a “friendly fire” incident over the Red Sea on Sunday, as the US military has increased its presence in the Red Sea to fight back against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Key facts

Two Navy pilots ejected safely from their F/A-18 into the Red Sea, with one suffering minor injuries, according to military officials cited by more reports.

The USS Gettysburg “erroneously fired on” the jet shortly after it took off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the US military’s Central Command said.

The jet that was shot down was reportedly a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of 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 has previously shot down several Houthi drones and a cruise missile from anti-ship rebels, and that sailors in the past have had seconds to make decisions about how to respond to the Houthis attack.

Key background

US military carried out strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, and around the port city of Hodeida on Saturday evening and early Sunday. The strikes in Sanaa targeted a “missile storage facility” and “command-and-control facility,” officials reportedly said. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas war, claiming they are targeting ships linked to the US, Britain or Israel, although 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 attack is Hamas ally (Forbes)

USS Mason shoots down Houthi drone amid escalating Red Sea conflict (Forbes)

Ship sinks after Houthi attack – a first in conflict (Forbes)