Two US navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the American military said.
They were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries.
The incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become after a year of attacks on shipping by the Houthis, who rule much of Yemen, despite US and European militaries patrolling the area and, along with Israel, repeatedly bombing the Arab country.
“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, which was flying off the USS Harry S Truman,” the US military’s Central Command said in a statement.
The two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet was assigned to “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. It was not immediately clear how the Gettysburg could have mistaken an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile given that ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.
The incident came just hours after American warplanes conducted airstrikes on Yemen, though the Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was.
The airstrikes, in turn, came after a Yemeni missile hit Tel Aviv in Israel and injured 16 people.
The Yemenis have targeted nearly 100 vessels with missiles and drones since Israel launched its war on Gaza last year saying they seek to deter Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. They have also fired drones and missiles at Israel.
The Yemenis maintain that they target ships linked to Israel and its key allies, the US and the UK, to force an end to the Israeli war. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
Israel launched a ground and air assault on Gaza in October 2023 after a Hamas attack killed nearly 1,139 Israelis and saw about 250 taken hostage.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians so far, according to local health officials.
The Yemenis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Some missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US and European coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
