Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in an apparent friendly fire incident, the U.S. military announced. This marks the most serious incident involving U.S. troops in over a year of American operations targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both pilots ejected from their aircraft and were recovered alive, with one sustaining minor injuries. The incident highlights the increasingly dangerous conditions in the Red Sea corridor, exacerbated by ongoing Houthi attacks on shipping, despite the presence of U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The shootdown occurred during U.S. airstrikes against Houthi rebels. While U.S. Central Command did not detail the mission, it confirmed the downed F/A-18 had just launched from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. The carrier’s presence in the Red Sea had been acknowledged on December 15th, though not explicitly stated at the time. Central Command later revealed that the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired upon and hit the F/A-18.
The downed aircraft was identified as a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 11. The circumstances surrounding the Gettysburg’s misidentification of the F/A-18 remain unclear, particularly given the established communication and radar links between ships within a battle group. However, Central Command noted that prior to the incident, warships and aircraft had engaged and destroyed multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile. The intense pace of incoming hostile fire has, in the past, left sailors with mere seconds to make critical decisions.
Since the Truman’s arrival, the U.S. has intensified airstrikes against Houthi forces and their missile launches. This increased military presence, however, risks provoking further retaliatory attacks from the rebels, as evidenced by incidents involving the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower earlier this year, which the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II. On Saturday night and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted strikes targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility” in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital held by the Houthis since 2014.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in Sanaa and around Hodeida, though they provided no details on casualties or damage. The strikes in Sanaa appeared focused on a mountainside known to house military installations. The Houthis did not acknowledge the friendly fire incident in the Red Sea.
The Houthis’ campaign against shipping, which has involved approximately 100 attacks using missiles and drones since October 2023, has resulted in one vessel seized and two sunk, along with the deaths of four sailors. Other attacks have been intercepted or missed their targets, which have also included Western military vessels. The Houthis claim to target vessels linked to Israel, the U.S., or the U.K. to pressure Israel’s actions in Gaza, but many targeted ships have little to no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. Simultaneously, the Houthis have escalated attacks against Israel itself with drones and missiles, prompting retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. The conflict in Gaza has resulted in a death toll exceeding 45,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.