Two U.S. Navy pilots in a fighter jet were accidentally shot down in a “friendly fire” incident over the Red Sea on Sunday, according to the U.S. military. Both pilots were safely ejected and recovered, while one suffered minor injuries.
The incident is the most serious one threatening U.S. troops in the region in a year of the military conducting operations against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The U.S. has been conducting airstrikes
At the time of the incident, the U.S. military was conducting airstrikes against the Houthi, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. military’s Central Command did not add any information regarding the pilot’s mission.
What jet were they flying in?
The pilots were flying in a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet that had departed off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. The carrier entered the Mideast on Dec. 15, Central Command said. The aircraft was assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
“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,” it said in a statement.
What the Houthi statement said
In a statement released hours after the incident, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attack was launched by the Houthi. He said it included them shooting down the fighter jet and launching eight drones and 17 cruise missiles. No evidence was offered as the statement was released, according to the AP.
The news comes as multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels were shot down, according to Central Command. The U.S. military has launched an increasing number of airstrikes since the Truman arrived in the Mideast. More attacks by the Houthi are to be expected in what the Navy qualified as “its most intense combat since World War II.”
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