A US fighter jet has been shot down over the Red Sea in a “friendly fire” strike after the warplane sent on a secret Houthi mission.
The incident has been dubbed the most serious to threaten troops in over a year of US targeting Yemen’s terrorist Houthi rebels.
Two pilots had to eject from their stricken aircraft and were thankfully recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries.
But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis.
This is all while US and European military coalitions patrol the area.
At the time, the US military carried out airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, but specific details about the mission were not revealed by the US military’s Central Command.
The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command confirmed.
On December 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn’t specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.
Central Command said in a statement: “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.”
From the military’s description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the Red Rippers of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.
However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels.
Incoming hostile fire from the terrorist Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.
Since the Truman’s arrival, the US has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area.
But the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the rebels.
That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.
The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel.
Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say.
The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US – and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israels campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
But many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict – including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.
Who are the Houthis?
THE Houthi rebels have spent months terrorising the Red Sea by launching persistent missile and drone attacks on vessels and warships – but who are they?
The Shia militant group who now controls large swaths of Yemen spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.
However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, they sprung from relative obscurity to holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage – turning one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.
Their warped battle cry is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
Why are they attacking ships?
Last October, the rebel group began launching relentless drone and missile attacks on any ships – including warships – they deem to be connected with Israel in solidarity with their ally Hamas.
In reality, they targeted commercial vessels with little or no link to Israel – forcing global sea traffic to largely halt operations in the region and sending shipping prices around the world soaring.
The sea assaults added to the carnage in the Middle East tinderbox as intense ripples from Israel’s war in Gaza were felt across the region – with Iran accused of stoking the chaos.
The Houthi chiefs pledged their Red Sea attacks would continue until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.
The group’s chiefs have previously said their main targets are Israel, and its allies the US and Britain.
And despite repeated threats from the West and joint US and UK strikes blitzing their strongholds in Yemen – Iran’s terror proxy appears undeterred.
The UK and US have hit Houthi bases as recently as this month after the terror group once again targeted boats in the shipping lane.
Israel has also hammered the group with airstrikes, reportedly hitting oil storage tanks at the port in Al Hudaydah
