Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in ‘friendly fire’ incident

[Hoodat]

Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in ‘friendly fire’ incident

Jon Gambrell, AP  |  Dec 21, 2024  |  10:48 PM

Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Both pilots were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries, but the incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

The U.S. military had been conducting airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though U.S. Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier  .  .  .

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2024/12/22/two-us-navy-pilots-shot-down-over-red-sea-in-friendly-fire-incident/

[bigheadfred]

Oopsies.

[rangerrebew]

U.S. Navy Shoots Down Own Plane as Fresh Strikes Target Houthi Rebels in Yemen
Story by Dov Lieber • 2h


Two U.S. Navy pilots ejected from their jet fighter over the Red Sea after being caught in “an apparent case of friendly-fire,” U.S. Central Command said Sunday, as the U.S. conducted a new round of attacks against the Houthi militant group in Yemen overnight.

The military said the two pilots safely ejected from their F/A-18 jet fighter after it was hit by fire from the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg. The jet fighter had flown off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and both ships are part of the same strike group. One of the crew members sustained minor injuries and an investigation is under way, the military said.
 
The friendly-fire incident came as U.S. Central Command said its forces had conducted airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a command and control facility operated by the Houthis in Yemen. It wasn’t immediately clear if the friendly-fire incident and the U.S. attack on Houthi targets are connected.

The Iranian-backed Houthis control much of northwestern Yemen. They have snarled international trade by attacking cargo ships passing through one of the world’s most important trade routes, in what the group describes as a campaign of support for Palestinian militants fighting Israel in Gaza.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u-s-navy-shoots-down-own-plane-as-fresh-strikes-target-houthi-rebels-in-yemen/ar-AA1wj9US?ocid=widgetonlockscreen&cvid=ff30334df2504d529a61d30deeec3a4b&ei=133

[rangerrebew]

Somehow, it seems almost symbolic of today's Navy!

[Timber Rattler]

More Navy incompetence.

[mountaineer]

[massadvj]

Our woke military is simply inept. The best they can do is a stalemate against Russia, a country with a military budget about one-tenth our size. A generation of DEI will be very difficult to undo.

[mystery-ak]

These two pilots are so lucky to be alive...there are ways to identify aircraft before you have to shoot them down.

[rangerrebew]

In 1974 I was aboard the carrier USS Ranger when we shot down our own helicopter and killed all 6 aboard.  The problem was firing a sidewinder too close to the helo, so there are ways things can get screwed up.  The really sad part was we were on our way to Hong Kong and 2 or 3 of them were supposed to meet their wives who could not be reached and notified until we got there.  So, these two were indeed fortunate!

[Timber Rattler]

These two pilots are so lucky to be alive...there are ways to identify aircraft before you have to shoot them down.

I've read other reports, and between the lines, it sounds like the Gettysburg's CIWS knocked down the F/A/18 just after it took off from the Truman.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_8jQaI_iew

[Smokin Joe]

Don't these have some sort of IFF system in place?

[AL]

Guess they turned of IFF transmitter ???   

[mystery-ak]

Second US Navy fighter jet narrowly avoided being shot down in 'friendly fire' incident [2nd time]
A second SM-2 missile was fired from USS Gettysburg, Navy official confirms
 By Lucas Y. Tomlinson Fox News
Published December 24, 2024 11:58am EST

EXCLUSIVE: On the same night a U.S. Navy fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea, a second jet nearly suffered the same fate. An F/A-18 Super Hornet – flying a few miles behind the Hornet that was shot down – was forced to take evasive maneuvers after a second surface-to-air missile was fired from the cruiser USS Gettysburg, narrowly missing the second jet by 100 feet while it prepared to land aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, a source with knowledge of the incident tells Fox News.

A Navy official confirmed that a second SM-2 missile was fired from USS Gettysburg, adding that the Navy is investigating whether that missile was targeting the second jet.

The Navy is also looking into whether the USS Gettysburg switched off the guidance system on the second missile. The near shoot-down of a second U.S. Navy jet has not been previously reported. 

U.S. Central Command, responsible for leading airstrikes in the Middle East, including the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, said in a statement about the "friendly fire" incident earlier this week: "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."

more
https://www.foxnews.com/us/second-us-navy-fighter-jet-narrowly-avoided-being-shot-down-friendly-fire-incident-source

[Timber Rattler]

My God...

The source said that is not correct. The F/A-18 Super Hornet was attempting to land aboard Truman when it was shot down after performing a midair refueling mission for jets carrying out airstrikes over Yemen, the source said.

"It was a tanker crew returning to land on the carrier about 10 miles out. They recognized the missile was guiding and punched out about three seconds before the missile hit the jet," the source said.

[berdie]

My God...

  Lord help us if we get into a major conflict.

[Smokin Joe]

This will be presented as a need to integrate systems between vessels, so another few billion...

[mountaineer]

More money for DEI, while we're at it.

[MOD6]

Merged