Courtesy of JNS. Photo credit: Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Darren Cordoviz/U.S. Navy Photo
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Sunliners” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81, lands on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Oct. 18, 2024
(JNS) — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down overnight on Saturday by friendly fire while American forces were conducting strikes on Houthi terrorists in Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
One of the pilots sustained minor injuries during the incident over the Red Sea.
“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,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The incident came as U.S. forces conducted precision airstrikes against Houthi missile storage and command-and-control facilities in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.
“CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden,” according to CENTCOM.
“During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea. The operation involved U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy assets, including F/A-18s.
“The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners, and international shipping,” CENTCOMM said.
Last week, American forces carried out an airstrike against a Houthi command-and-control center in Yemen.
Overnight Friday, 16 Israelis were lightly wounded when a ballistic missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen struck a residential area in Tel Aviv’s Jaffa neighborhood at 3:44 a.m.
Two days earlier, the Israeli Air Force struck terror targets in Yemen before dawn on Thursday, after a Houthi missile hit an elementary school in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv.
