The US military announced that two American pilots were shot down on Sunday over the Red Sea in what appeared to be “friendly fire.”
The two pilots were found alive after exiting their plane, and one of them was slightly injured.
The incident illustrates the pervasive dangers in the Red Sea corridor amid ongoing attacks on ships by the Iran-backed Houthis, even as US and European military coalitions patrol the region.
The US military had launched air strikes targeting the Houthi rebels in Yemen at the time, but the US Army Central Command did not clarify the details of their mission.
A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP)
The Army said the downed plane was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
The F/A-18 had just flown off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, according to Central Command. On December 15, Central Command said that the aircraft carrier Truman had entered the Middle East, but did not specify 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, accidentally fired and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
