Early Sunday morning, a U.S. F/A-18F Super Hornet was mistakenly shot down by the USS Gettysburg in an incident known as “friendly fire” over the Red Sea. Luckily, both Navy pilots onboard the aircraft are unharmed.
CENTCOM released a report on the incident, stating that the U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, belonging to the USS Harry S. Truman, was unintentionally targeted and shot down by the USS Gettysburg, a guided missile cruiser. Fortunately, both pilots safely ejected from the aircraft, with one sustaining minor injuries.
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) December 22, 2024
Here’s what we know at present:
The aircraft, which was part of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) carrier group, was on a routine flight over the Red Sea when the USS Gettysburg (CG-64) mistakenly fired upon it, as confirmed by CENTCOM.
“Both pilots were safely recovered. Initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” reads a statement from CENTCOM. “This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.”
A Navy official told USNI News the incident occurred around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday or about 7 p.m. East Coast time on Saturday. The Super Hornet was assigned to Carrier Air Wing One, and embarked aboard Truman, an official told USNI News. While the CENTCOM statement didn’t specify the squadron, the only two-seat F/A-18F squadron embarked aboard Truman are the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
The strike group is tasked as part of the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, the mission to protect merchant traffic in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks from Yemen. Previous strike groups and independently deployed U.S. guided-missile warships have intercepted dozens of drones, guided cruise missiles and ballstic missiles as part of their mission.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces attacked the Yemeni capital of Sanna striking a missile storage facility and a command and control node, according to a Saturday statement from CENTCOM.
As noted, U.S. forces had been conducting airstrikes against the Houthi in Yemen.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the successful strikes in a release Saturday, saying they were meant to “disrupt and degrade” Houthi operations.
“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,” CENTCOM said in a news release.
Following the incident, CENTCOM issued the following statement:
The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), 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.
Both pilots were safely recovered. Initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries. This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.
This is a developing story. RedState will provide additional information as it becomes available.
