exclusive: On the same night a U.S. Navy fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea, a second fighter jet suffered a nearly identical fate. The F/A-18 Super Hornet, which was flying several miles behind the downed Hornet, was forced to take evasive action after a second surface-to-air missile was fired from the cruiser USS Gettysburg. I missed it. The aircraft descended 100 feet while preparing to land on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, a source familiar with the incident told Fox News.
Navy officials confirmed that a second SM-2 missile was fired from the USS Gettysburg, adding that the Navy is investigating whether the missile was aimed at the second jet.
The Navy is also investigating whether the USS Gettysburg turned off the second missile's guidance system. There have been no reports of a second US Navy fighter being nearly shot down.
U.S. Central Command, which leads airstrikes in the Middle East, including against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, said in a statement about the “mutual attack” incident earlier this week: “The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG64), part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, accidentally fired and hit an F/A-18 flying from the USS Harry S. Truman.”
Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea, apparent 'friendly fire' incident: US military
A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft flies over the Baltic Sea region, June 9, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nicholas Swift)
Sources said that's not true. The F/A-18 Super Hornet was shot down while attempting to land in Truman after conducting an aerial refueling mission for jets bombing Yemen, officials said.
“It was a tanker crew trying to land on an aircraft carrier about 16 miles away. They realized the missile was guiding them and punched out about three seconds before the missile hit the jet,” the official said. spoke.
US Navy ships repel Houthi attack in Gulf of Aden
A fighter jet flies on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armang)
The pilot and weapons systems officer ejected and were picked up by a rescue helicopter and returned to the carrier. One person suffered “minor injuries,” Centcom said in a statement.
Neither U.S. Central Command nor the Pentagon has disclosed that a second American fighter jet narrowly escaped being shot down after being fired on by a cruiser.
“The cruiser almost shot down two friendly aircraft,” the official said.
On the night of the “mutual attack,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement regarding said. Yemeni time on December 21 in Sanaa, Yemen. ”
Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser USS Gettysburg sailing in the Mediterranean, December 15, 2024. (AP)
There have been no attacks by the Truman administration against the Houthis since the friendly fire incident.
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Navy pilots were angered by the incident and questioned their training aboard the USS Gettysburg, which officials said was “inadequate.”
The “friendly fire” incident occurred just days after the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Red Sea. The December 21 airstrike against the Houthis was the first since the aircraft carrier arrived off the coast of Yemen.
On the night President Truman launched airstrikes against the Houthis, an American warship came under fire, which may have contributed to the “friendly fire” incident.
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in statement announcing the strike; Centcom said, “During this period, [Dec. 21] During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi One-Way Attack Unmanned Attack Vehicles (OWA UAVs) and anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) over the Red Sea. ”
