Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down in what appeared to be friendly fire over the Red Sea on Sunday, according to the U.S. military.
The pilots were found alive after being ejected from their plane. One of them suffered minor injuries.
The incident highlights the ever-present dangers in the Red Sea corridor amid continued attacks on shipping by the Iran-backed Houthis, even as U.S. and European military coalitions patrol the area.
The US military had carried out air strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen at the time, but US military Central Command did not provide any information about their mission.
A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP)
According to the military, the downed aircraft was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the Red Rippers of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
According to Central Command, the F/A-18 that was shot down had just flown off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. On December 15, Central Command announced that the Truman had entered the Middle East, but did not indicate 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 at and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
