How USS Gettysburg Ended Up Shooting Down A Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet

[rangerrebew]

How USS Gettysburg Ended Up Shooting Down A Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet
New details paint a troubled picture aboard the USS Gettysburg prior to it shooting down a Super Hornet and nearly another.
Howard Altman

Updated Dec 5, 2025 2:32 PM EST
 

On the approach to land on the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, the F/A-18F Super Hornet’s pilot looked out the canopy and saw a Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) launched from the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg speeding through the sky. At first, the pilot thought the missile was aimed at a Houthi drone or cruise missile, one of several fired at the carrier strike group on Dec. 22, 2024, during an attack from the Yemeni rebel group. But as the SM-2 drew closer and changed its course toward the Super Hornet, configured as an aerial refueler, the crew knew it was heading straight for them. However, they had no way of knowing that on the Gettysburg, their jet had been identified as a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile like others fired at the strike group, and thus a threat.

What happened next, the cascading series of problems that led up to it, and efforts to correct those issues are laid out in a Navy investigation report released Thursday. The investigation was one of four conducted into mishaps aboard the Truman during its troubled deployment to the Middle East. There were two additional Super Hornet losses and a collision with a merchant ship. You can read more about that in our initial story about the investigations here.
 

https://www.twz.com/air/how-uss-gettysburg-shot-down-a-super-hornet-and-nearly-another

[Timber Rattler]

“Specific to the Gettysburg incident,” the NSO added, “the interoperability piece that has been associated with the Identification Friend or Foe, we discovered that was not just a cruiser issue. That was across the board, and we worked aggressively to identify it and then to get that software fixed, and our industry partners were committed to executing that, and we’re on a path to burn down that technical debt across the board.”

All told, “we’ve invested over $55 million since this incident to correct those Aegis Weapon System deficiencies,” the SNO pointed out. “And I will tell you, over the last two years, our industry partners have demonstrated their commitment and their ability to rapidly correct these software deficiencies, and it’s been very impressive.”

The friendly fire incident has also spurred a wide-ranging retraining effort.

Groan...   

[MeganC]

IFF = Identification Friend AND Foe

 

[Timber Rattler]

IFF = Identification Friend AND Foe

 

And apparently wasn't working, which turned out to be a common problem throughout the fleet.

Seems kinda important to me.   

[jafo2010]

A contractor got paid for something that does not work.  And the taxpayers have to pay milllions more to fix the problem.  I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

The War Department is out of control and poorly managed if we the taxpayers have to keep footing the bill for poorly completed defense projects that result in the death of our uniformed men/women and the destruction of assets worth tens of millions.  Totally mismanaged.  No accountability!!!

[Smokin Joe]

Not just pay for the bad software, but pay for the 'fix'.

One F/A-18 costs between $65 and $70 million.

The crew is priceless.