环球商业周刊编辑部Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea on Sunday in what the U.S. military described as a possible case of “friendly fire.”
Both pilots survived after ejecting from their aircraft, with one sustaining minor injuries.
The incident highlights the significant risks in the Red Sea corridor, a region plagued by attacks on shipping by Iranian-backed Houthi forces, despite the presence of U.S. and European military patrols.
At the time of the incident, the U.S. military was conducting airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, but U.S. Central Command did not disclose details about the mission.
The aircraft involved was an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, a two-seat model assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11, based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia.
According to Central Command, the F/A-18 had taken off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier shortly before the incident. While Central Command previously announced on December 15 that the Truman and its battle group had entered the Middle East, it did not confirm their location in the Red Sea.
The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on the F/A-18 and struck the aircraft, Central Command said in a statement.
