2 U.S. Navy pilots eject to safety after friendly fire downs their fighter jet

Two U.S. Navy pilots safely ejected over the Red Sea on Sunday after the F/A-18 fighter jet they were in was shot down by what appeared to be friendly fire, U.S. Central Command said.

The F/A-18 was flying off of the USS Harry S. Truman when it was downed, CENTCOM said in a statement. One of the pilots may have sustained minor injuries during the ejection, CENTCOM said.

The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in the region, “mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” it said.

“A full investigation is underway,” CENTCOM added. 

Officials didn’t release the fighter’s exact mission.

The apparent accident happened Sunday morning in the region between Africa and the Middle East, a focus of U.S. military assets assembled to protect U.S. personnel, coalition partners and global shipping interests.

On Dec. 15, CENTCOM said in a statement that the strike group had entered its area of command, which includes the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia.

The strike group also includes Carrier Air Wing 1, Destroyer Squadron 28, and two Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Stout and USS Jason Dunham, according to CENTCOM.

“The Strike Group is deployed to ensure regional stability and security,” CENTCOM said on Dec. 15.

The incident comes as U.S. forces have continued to mount a defense against Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen, which have targeted cargo ships for missile attacks that threaten the global supply chain.

Over the last year, U.S. forces have launched attacks against Houthi facilities and assets in Yemen, including underground storage facilities, command and control locations, missile and radar systems, and drone bases.

“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said after U.S. forces struck Houthi weapons facilities in Yemen in November.

The back and forth with the Houthis this year has included what the Navy has described as its most intense fighting since World War II.

An estimated 12% of global supplies pass through Red Sea shipping lanes on a typical day.

Houthis stepped up their attacks following the Oct. 7, 2023 incursion into Israel by Hamas militants based in Gaza, which was met with war on the militants by Israel with support of the United States.

According to Israeli officials, about 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the incursion by Hamas militants. Hamas fighters took about 250 people hostage. Around 100 are still being held captive, according to an NBC News tally, though more than a third are believed to be dead.

Since the start of the war, more than 45,000 people, most of them women and children, have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.

Houthi militants said in a statement Saturday that Israel’s behavior has included “massacres against our brothers in Gaza.”

On Saturday morning, a Houthi missile launched from Yemen struck Tel Aviv, resulting in injuries to 14 people but no deaths, emergency services officials in Israel said. In their statement, Houthi rebels noted the missile was not thwarted by Israel’s “iron dome” defense.