On Sunday, December 22, 2024, the US Central Command stated that a US military fighter jet was shot down in a friendly fire incident over the Red Sea on Saturday. Fortunately, both American Navy pilots were able to safely eject from the aircraft using their parachutes, with one sustaining minor injuries.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the US Central Command issued a statement on Sunday confirming the incident as a case of friendly fire, with both pilots successfully ejecting from the crashed plane and one sustaining minor injuries.
The statement mentioned that the US military was conducting airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen at the time of the friendly fire incident. However, the US Central Command did not provide specific details about the mission of the two pilots or respond to inquiries from the Associated Press.
It was noted in the statement that the downed F/A-18 fighter jet had just taken off from the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. The US Central Command had previously acknowledged on December 15 that the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group had entered the Middle East, but did not explicitly state that the carrier and its battle group were in the Red Sea.
In the statement released on Sunday, the US Central Command mentioned, “USS Gettysburg, part of the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, mistakenly fired and hit the F/A-18.”
According to the US military, the shot-down aircraft was a two-seater F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet belonging to the Strike Fighter Squadron 11 based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia.
It is currently unclear how the USS Gettysburg missile cruiser misidentified the F/A-18 fighter jet as a hostile aircraft or missile, particularly as the ships within the Truman carrier strike group were maintaining contact through radar and radio communications.
However, the US Central Command stated that US warships and aircraft had earlier taken down several Houthi armed drones and an anti-ship cruise missile. In the past, when under attack by Houthi forces, the US Navy has only had seconds to make response decisions.