“Tragic Misfire: US Navy Pilots Downed in Red Sea Amidst Friendly Fire Confusion”

A fighter aircraft executes maneuvers on the flight deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024.

Bernat Armangue/AP/AP

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Bernat Armangue/AP/AP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two U.S. Navy aviators were downed Sunday above the Red Sea in what appears to be a “friendly fire” incident, according to the U.S military, marking the most significant case jeopardizing troops in over a year amidst American operations targeting Yemen’s Houthi insurgents.

Both aviators were rescued alive after ejecting from their damaged aircraft, with one sustaining minor injuries. However, the shootdown emphasizes the perilous nature of the Red Sea corridor due to ongoing assaults on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis, despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the region.

At the time, the U.S. military had been conducting airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, although the Central Command did not provide further details regarding their mission nor promptly address inquiries from The Associated Press.

The downed F/A-18 had just launched from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, as stated by Central Command. On December 15, Central Command acknowledged that the Truman had arrived in the Mideast, yet it had not confirmed that the carrier and its accompanying battle group were present in the Red Sea.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly targeted and struck the F/A-18,” Central Command mentioned in an announcement.

According to the military’s account, the downed aircraft was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet belonging to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

It was not immediately apparent how the Gettysburg could misidentify an F/A-18 as an enemy aircraft or missile, especially since ships within a battle group maintain their connections through both radar and radio communications.

Nevertheless, Central Command indicated that naval vessels and aircraft had previously intercepted multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the insurgents. Sailors have faced merely seconds to decide when hostile fire was incoming from the Houthis.

Since the Truman’s deployment, the U.S. has intensified its airstrike campaign targeting the Houthis and their missile launches into the Red Sea and surrounding regions. However, the presence of an American naval task force might provoke renewed assaults from the insurgents, similar to what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower experienced earlier this year, which the Navy characterized as its most intense combat since World War II.

On Saturday night and into early Sunday, U.S. warplanes executed airstrikes that rocked Sanaa, the capital of Yemen that the Houthis have controlled since 2014. Central Command referred to the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility,” though it did not provide further details.

Media outlets controlled by the Houthis reported strikes occurring in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without disclosing any information about casualties or damages. In Sanaa, strikes seemed particularly focused on a hillside known for housing military installations. The Houthis did not recognize the downed aircraft incident in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have aimed at approximately 100 commercial vessels with missiles and drones since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, following Hamas’s surprise assault on Israel that resulted in 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 250 individuals.

Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza have claimed the lives of over 45,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. The count does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

The Houthis have captured one vessel and sunk two in operations that have also led to the death of four sailors. Other missiles and drones were either intercepted by distinct U.S. and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The insurgents assert that they target vessels associated with Israel, the U.S., or the United Kingdom to compel an end to Israel’s operations against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the attacked vessels have little or no connection to the conflict, including some destined for Iran.

The Houthis have increasingly directed drones and missiles at Israel itself, leading to retaliatory airstrikes by Israeli forces.