Two Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ’friendly fire’ incident: U.S. military

U.S. Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in "friendly fire" incident, highlighting danger in region.

Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday (December 22, 2024) over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S. military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Both pilots were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries, but the incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On December 15, Central Command acknowledged that Truman had entered the Mideast but hadn’t specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.

“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,” Central Command said in a statement.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication. However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels.

Since the Truman’s arrival, the U.S. has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw last year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.