Two U.S. Navy pilots and one F-18 fighter plane were shot down over the Red Sea, which separates North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, in what officials say was a friendly fire incident.
Two pilots were rescued, one with minor injuries, after the “apparent case of friendly fire,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. Officials said the incident is being investigated, but did not provide more details.
“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,” CENTCOM said in its statement.
Based on the U.S. military’s description, the aircraft shot down 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.
CENTCOM said on Dec. 21 that the airstrikes were done in an attempt to “disrupt and degrade” the group’s operations in how they have launched drone and other attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, and other areas in recent months.
The United States also shot down several “one way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles” operated by the Houthis and anti-ship cruise missiles in the Red Sea. Those efforts were conducted by F/A-18 fighter jets and other Navy assets, the statement said.
It’s not clear if the strikes against Houthi operations over the weekend were connected to the two pilots being shot down. The Epoch Times contacted U.S. Central Command for additional comment Sunday.
He said that the U.S.S. Harry S. Truman strike group operation “resulted in the failure of an American-British attack on our country and the downing of an F-18 plane.” U.S. officials have not publicly responded to his claims.
In recent months, the Red Sea has seen significant military activity after the Houthis, a U.S. State Department-designated terrorist group backed by Iran, have launched attacks against shipping in the region. The Houthis have ramped up their operations since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
The Houthis have so far seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The group said that their operations are targeting ships heading to Israel and are designed to disrupt the latter’s Gaza campaign, which started in October 2023 following Hamas’s air, land, and sea attack on Israel during which it killed more than 1,200 civilians and abducted around 250 more as hostages.
Israel has also retaliated against Houthi missile and drone strikes with its own airstrikes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a warning to the Houthis on Sunday, saying that he will conduct military operations against the Yemeni group due to its ties with Iran.
“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s axis of evil, so we will act against the Houthis,” he said in a video statement. “The United States, along with other countries, views the Houthis as a threat not only to international shipping but also to the international order.”
