A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (Bernat Armangue/AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday 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 after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become, with ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The Washington Post, citing the U.S. military, reported that the aviators were a pilot and a weapons system officer. The jet was shot down by an SM-2 surface-to-air missile, the Post said.
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.
“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,” Central Command said in a statement.
From the military’s description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
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.
CENTCOM also released a separate statement saying U.S. forces had conducted airstrikes Saturday and early Sunday targeting a Houthi missile storage facility and a command hub in Yemen.
During the mission, U.S. forces also shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, according to the statement.
Air Force and Navy assets, including F/A-18s, were used in the operation, CENTCOM said in a post to the command’s official account on X. But it wasn’t clear if the Navy jet shot down Saturday in the friendly-fire incident with Gettysburg was involved in the operation.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without offering any casualty or damage information. In Sanaa, strikes appeared particularly targeted at a mountainside known to be home to military installations. However, there were no images or information released regarding the strikes — which has happened previously when airstrikes hit vital facilities for the rebels.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, released a prerecorded statement hours later in which he claimed the rebels launched eight drones and 17 cruise missiles in their attack. He also claimed without offering any evidence that the Houthis shot down the F/A-18, likely following a pattern of him making exaggerated claims. During the Eisenhower’s deployment, he repeatedly falsely claimed the carrier had been struck by Houthi fire.
Saturday’s mission against the Iranian-backed group is the second in a week. On Monday, U.S. forces also targeted a Houthi militant facility that facilitated the group’s attacks against ships in the region.
In November, a series of U.S. airstrikes against Houthi militants targeted weapons bunkers in Yemen. Those strikes included Air Force and Navy assets, such as F-35C stealth fighter jets.
The strikes this month come on the heels of the arrival of the Truman Carrier Strike Group in the Middle East a week ago. The group includes the destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham and the USS Gettysburg, and Carrier Air Wing 1 with nine embarked aviation squadrons.
The Pentagon has beefed up its presence in the region with additional Air Force bombers, fighter jets and refueling aircraft.
The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.
Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would act “forcefully” against the Houthis, as it has against other allies of Iran, “only in this case, we are not acting alone.”
Stars and Stripes staff writer Alison Bath in Naples, Italy, contributed to this report.
