The U.S. military has acknowledged a friendly fire incident in which one of its own fighter jets was mistakenly shot down over the Red Sea early Sunday morning. The incident forced both pilots to eject from the aircraft.
According to a statement released by U.S. Central Command, the two pilots were successfully rescued; one sustained minor injuries. The event is being investigated as an “apparent case of friendly fire.”
The downed aircraft was identified as an F-18 Hornet, operating from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. The statement further revealed that the missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, an escort ship for the carrier, “mistakenly fired on and hit” the fighter jet.
The Red Sea has been a region of heightened military activity for over a year, as U.S. forces engage with the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. The Houthi group has been responsible for carrying out attacks against commercial and military shipping in the area.
Prior to the friendly fire incident, the U.S. military reported engaging Houthi drones and missiles over the Red Sea on Saturday. U.S. forces also carried out strikes on Houthi command-and-control and missile storage sites in Sanaa.
