“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.”
On Sunday, two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in what was called a "friendly fire" incident. The pilots were rescued but one suffered minor injuries.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement, "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."
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View on XAccording to Fox News, the aircraft 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.
Earlier, US forces conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis within Houthi-controlled territory in Sana’a, Yemen.
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View on XDuring the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea.
The operation involved U.S. Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18s. The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, according to CENTCOM.
CENTCOM forces conducted the strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against US Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.
The Truman had entered the Mideast earlier this month, but CENTCOM did not specify that the carrier and its battle group were in the Red Sea.
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