A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (Bernat Armangue/AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S. military said.
Both were found alive, with one suffering minor injuries. However, the incident underlines how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become after a year of persistent attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The Washington Post, citing the US military, reported that the pilots were a pilot and a weapons systems officer.
The US military had been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen at the time, although the US military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was.
“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, accidentally fired at the F/A-18 flying ahead of the USS Harry S. Truman,” Central Command said. a statement.
According to the Army’s description, the aircraft shot down was an F/A-18 Super Hornet two-seat fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 at 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 connected by both radar and radio communications.
CENTCOM also released a separate statement saying that US forces carried out airstrikes on a Houthi missile storage facility and a command center in Yemen on Saturday and early Sunday.
During the mission, US forces also shot down several Houthi one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, the statement said.
Air Force and Navy assets, including F/A-18s, were used in the operation, CENTCOM said in a message on the command’s official account on X. But it was not clear whether the Navy plane was shot down in friendly fire on Saturday. Gettysburg incident was involved in the operation.
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 appeared to mainly target a mountainside known to be home to military installations. However, no images or information have been released about the attacks – which previously occurred when airstrikes hit vital facilities for the rebels.
Brig. General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, released a pre-recorded statement hours later claiming the rebels had launched eight drones and 17 cruise missiles during their attack. He also claimed, without providing any evidence, that the Houthis shot down the F/A-18, likely following a pattern of making exaggerated claims. During the Eisenhower deployment, he repeatedly falsely claimed that the aircraft carrier had been hit by Houthi fire.
Saturday’s mission against the Iran-backed group is the second in a week. On Monday, U.S. forces also targeted a Houthi militant facility that facilitated the group’s attacks on ships in the region.
In November, a series of US airstrikes on Houthi militants targeted weapons bunkers in Yemen. Those attacks include Air Force and Navy assets such as F-35C stealth fighter jets.
This month’s strikes follow the arrival of the Truman Carrier Strike Group in the Middle East a week ago. The group includes the destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham and the USS Gettysburg, and Carrier Air Wing 1 with nine embarked aviation squadrons.
The Pentagon has beefed up its presence in the region with additional Air Force bombers, fighter jets and air tankers.
The Houthis have attacked about 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023 after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The count does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis seized one ship and sank two in a campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or have failed to reach their targets, including Western military vessels.
The rebels claim they are targeting ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to end Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis are also increasingly targeting Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory attacks with Israeli airstrikes.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would act “strongly” against the Houthis, just as it has done against other allies of Iran, “but in this case we are not acting alone.”
Alison Bath, writer at Stars and Stripes in Naples, Italy, contributed to this report.