2 navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea
2 navy pilots shot down over the Red Sea Two U.S. Navy pilots safely ejected over the Red Sea after their F/A-18 fighter aircraft was inadvertently shot down early Sunday in what military officials described as "an apparent case of friendly fire."
A news release from U.S. Central Command said that one of the pilots had minor injuries.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, "fired upon and hit the aircraft flying off the USS Harry S. Truman," the news release read. It added that the military has initiated a full investigation into the incident.
The Navy has patrolled the area for more than a year to counter continuing attacks on commercial ships from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War.
Hours earlier, the military said U.S. forces conducted precision strikes against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility used by the Houthis and shot down multiple uncrewed aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile.
That operation involved the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy and included F/A-18 aircraft.
U.S. shoots down missiles today
A U.S. Navy cruiser shot down a Navy F/A-18 fighter jet over the Red Sea in the early morning hours on Sunday, U.S. Central Command said.
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The F/A-18 was shot by weapons from the guided-missile cruiser the USS Gettysburg after taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on Dec. 22. Both Navy aviators were able to eject from the fighter jet and were recovered safely. One of the two sustained minor injuries, according to CENTCOM.
The USS Gettysburg "mistakenly fired on" the F/A-18, CENTCOM said. The shootdown occurred during a weekend of action against the Houthis militant Yemeni nationalist group controlling much of Yemen, including the capital-American and British aircraft have been bombing targets in Sana'a since Saturday. The incident is under investigation.
The friendly fire incident is the first time a manned American aircraft has been shot down in the 14 months that U.S. forces have battled the Houthis around Yemen. Houthis have claimed several MQ-9 Reaper drone shootdowns but no manned jets or helicopters. This F/A-18 is the first to be taken out in the fighting, albeit by friendly fire from the U.S. Navy.
On Saturday, Dec. 21, CENTCOM reported that U.S. forces took out multiple one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Yemen over the southern Red Sea as U.S. and British aircraft bombed a missile storage site and command facility in Sana'a. CENTCOM posted footage of numerous jets from USS Harry S. Truman taking off at night. It is not evident whether there were similar happenings here when the Navy jet was shot down.
us shoots down missiles today BBC
The Pentagon said an attempt by Yemen's Houthi rebels to target two US warships with a multi-missile attack was defeated.
At least eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles, and three anti-ship cruise missiles targeted the USS Stockdale and the USS Spruance on Monday.
The vessels shot down the projectiles and were "not damaged and no personnel were hurt," Pentagon press secretary Air Force Major Gen Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday.
This is the second in a week, following successive airstrikes made by the US Central Command against Houthi weapons storage bases in Yemen.
US bombers target underground Houthi weapon sites in Yemen
The attack occurred while the Iranian-backed rebel group was navigating through the Bab el-Mandeb strait waterway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Al-Masirah TV, the main television news channel run by Yemen's Houthi movement, claimed that a wave of airstrikes had been launched on two US warships and a third vessel in the Arabian Sea.
Our mujahedeen have successfully bombarded the USS Abraham Lincoln with several cruise missiles," the rebels' military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea claimed in a statement on X.
READ MORE: Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in
Ryder, however, added: "I am not aware of any attacks against the Abraham Lincoln."
"We will continue to make clear to the Houthis there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks," he said.
The Houthis are part of a network of armed groups in the Middle East backed by Iran that includes Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
They have targeted shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden each month since November 2023, sinking two vessels, seizing a third of targeted ships, and killing crew members.
It says it is acting on behalf of the Palestinians over the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
They have claimed, often falsely, that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US, or the UK.
Earlier this year, the US, UK, and 12 other nations launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect Red Sea shipping lanes against the Houthis.
In October, the US military said it had launched strikes on 15 Houthi targets in Yemen, with several explosions reported in the capital Sanaa.
It has previously said it aims to degrade the Houthis' ability to target shipping.
us shoots down missiles today
A U.S. Navy cruiser shot down a Navy F/A-18 fighter jet over the Red Sea early Sunday morning, according to U.S. Central Command.
The F/A-18 was shot by weapons from the guided-missile cruiser the USS Gettysburg after taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on Dec. 22. Both Navy aviators were able to eject from the fighter jet and were recovered safely. One of the two sustained minor injuries, according to CENTCOM.
The USS Gettysburg "mistakenly fired on" the F/A-18, CENTCOM said. The shootdown came amidst a weekend of military action against the Houthis, a militant Yemeni nationalist group that controls much of Yemen, including the capital. American and British aircraft have been bombing targets in Sana'a since Saturday. The incident is under investigation.
The friendly fire incident is the first time a manned American aircraft has been shot down in the 14 months that U.S. forces have battled the Houthis around Yemen. Houthis claim to have shot down several MQ-9 Reaper drones, but no manned jets or helicopters. This F/A-18 is the first to be taken out in the fighting, albeit accidentally by the U.S. Navy.
On Saturday, Dec. 21, CENTCOM announced that U.S. forces had shot down multiple one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile fired from Yemen over the Red Sea, at the same time that U.S. and British planes hit a missile storage site and command facility in Sana'a. CENTCOM released footage of several aircraft launching at nighttime from the USS Harry S. Truman. It is not known if this situation was occurring here as this Navy jet was being downed.
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