The F/A-18 was downed by the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg over the Red Sea

©  X / CENTCOM

The US Navy inadvertently shot down its own F/A-18 fighter jet in a friendly fire incident over the Red Sea, the Pentagon announced shortly after issuing a press release about another successful bombing raid against alleged Houthi targets in Yemen.

The F/A-18 was shot down by the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg after taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed early Sunday morning. The two Navy pilots were able to eject from the fighter jet and were recovered safely, although one sustained minor injuries.

The incident occurred just as American and British aircraft conducted new bombing raids targeting alleged missile storage sites and command facilities in Sanaa to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, according to a CENTCOM press release issued earlier on Saturday night.

“During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea,” the US military stated.

“The operation involved US Air Force and US Navy assets, including F/A-18s,” it noted.

 

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Hours later, the US military admitted that the USS Gettysburg had “mistakenly fired on” the F/A-18 but did not specify which weapon was used to shoot it down. An investigation is currently underway to determine the exact circumstances of the incident. The commander of the cruiser serves as the air defense commander for the strike group, responsible for detecting and neutralizing incoming threats.

American forces, along with several allies, have been conducting Operation Prosperity Guardian, a mission to protect merchant traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from Houthi threats, for the past 14 months. The group claims to have downed several MQ-9 Reapers, but the loss of the F/A-18 marks the first time a crewed American aircraft was lost during the mission.