US Navy F/A-18F Shot Down Over Red Sea by USS Gettysburg; Both Pilots Safe

Dec 22, 2024, 08:18 AM

Two U.S. Navy pilots ejected safely over the Red Sea early Sunday at around 3 a.m. local time after their F/A-18F Super Hornet was mistakenly shot down in an apparent friendly fire incident near Yemen, the U.S. military said. The fighter jet, operating from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), was accidentally targeted by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64), which is part of the same carrier strike group. Both pilots were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries. The incident occurred during coalition airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels and marks one of the most serious involving U.S. forces in over a year of operations in the region.