Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, US military says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S. military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year , where America has been targeted. Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, one suffering minor injuries. But the shooting underscores how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

The U.S. military had been conducting airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

The F/A-18 that was shot down had just come off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On 15 December, Central Command acknowledged that Truman had entered the Middle East, but had not specified 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, mistakenly fired at and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.

From the military’s description, the downed aircraft was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

It was not immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, especially since ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communications.

However, the Central Command said warships and aircraft have previously shot down several Houthi drones and a cruise missile fired by the rebels. In the past, incoming enemy fire from the Houthis has given sailors only seconds to make decisions.

Since Truman’s arrival, the United States has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire in the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of a US warship group could trigger renewed attacks by the rebels, as the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense battle since World War II.

On Saturday night and early Sunday, US warplanes carried out airstrikes that shook Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, which the Houthis have held since 2014. The Central Command described the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility,” without elaborating.

Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without providing information on casualties or damage. In Sanaa, the attacks specifically targeted a hillside known to be home to military installations. The Houthis later acknowledged that the plane was shot down in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted around 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023 following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

Israel’s fierce offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The census does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The Houthis have seized the one vessel and lowered two in one campaign it has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

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

The Houthis have also increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in Israeli retaliatory strikes.