Both pilots were found alive after ejecting from their plane, one of them suffering minor injuries, the US military said.
Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military said. It was the most serious incident to threaten troops in more than a year of targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The shooting highlights how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become due to incessant attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on ships, despite patrols by the American and European military coalitions in the region.
The U.S. military then carried out airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, but U.S. Central Command did not specify the nature of their mission and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. .
The downed F/A-18 had just left the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, Central Command said. On December 15, Central Command acknowledged that the Truman had entered the Middle East, but did not specify that the carrier and its strike group were in the Red Sea.
“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group, mistakenly fired at the F/A-18 and hit it,” Central Command said in a press release.
According to the Army’s description, the downed aircraft was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter belonging to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
It is not yet clear how the Gettysburg was able to mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy plane or missile, especially since the ships in a combat group remain linked together by radar and radio communication.
However, the central command said warships and aircraft had already shot down several Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. In the past, sailors have had only seconds to make a decision in the face of hostile Houthi fire.
Since the arrival of the USS Truman, the United States has intensified its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and its missile launches in and around the Red Sea. However, the presence of a group of American warships could trigger further rebel attacks, like those the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower faced earlier this year. The deployment marked what the Navy described as the most intense combat since World War II.
On Saturday night, US warplanes carried out airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the Yemeni capital that the Houthis have held since 2014. Central Command said the strikes targeted a “missile storage facility ” and a “command and control facility”, without giving further details.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in Sanaa and around the port city of al-Hodeidah, without providing information on casualties or damage. In Sanaa, the strikes appeared to particularly target a mountainside known to host military installations. The Houthis later admitted that the plane had been shot down in the Red Sea.
The Houthis have targeted around 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel , which left 1,200 dead and 250 hostages.
The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, under the control of Hamas. The count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis seized one ship and sank two in a campaign that also cost the lives of four sailors. Other missiles and drones were intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to hit their targets, which also included Western military ships.
The rebels say they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom to force an end to the Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the vessels attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis have also increasingly targeted Israel with drones and missiles, prompting Israeli airstrikes in retaliation.
Additional sources • adaptation: Serge Duchêne