US Navy Cruiser Accidentally Shoots Down Fighter Jet Over Red Sea: Friendly-Fire Incident Explained
On Sunday morning, a US Navy cruiser mistakenly shot down a US Navy fighter jet over the Red Sea, leading to the ejection of both pilots. This friendly-fire incident occurred amidst a barrage of UAVs and missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as reported by US Central Command.
The incident began when an F/A-18 Super Hornet took off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. Shortly after its launch, the crew of the USS Gettysburg, the cruiser in the carrier strike group responsible for air defense, misidentified the F/A-18 as a threat and shot it down. Fortunately, both pilots ejected safely, although one sustained minor injuries.
Source: USN
This event took place during a period of heightened military activity off the coast of Yemen. The day before the incident, US Central Command had conducted airstrikes targeting Houthi missile storage and command-and-control facilities in Sana’a, Yemen. During that operation, US forces also intercepted multiple incoming Houthi suicide drones and one antiship cruise missile over the Red Sea, involving both US Air Force fighters and Navy F/A-18s.
The friendly-fire incident underscores the difficult threat environment in the Red Sea and the intense pressure faced by air defense personnel. In the confined space of the Red Sea, US Navy surface combatants often have mere seconds to accurately identify a Houthi missile threat and respond with interceptors, raising the risk of miscalculations. This is not the first instance of such errors; in February 2024, the German Navy frigate Hesse nearly shot down a US drone, mistaking it for a threat due to a “technical error,” although the drone was later confirmed to be non-hostile.
The USS Gettysburg is a Ticonderoga-class cruiser that was commissioned in 1991. It is equipped with a Cold War-era AN/SPY-1 multifunction air defense radar, which underwent upgrades during a nine-year inactivation and modernization period from 2015 to 2024. It is notable for being the only cruiser to complete repairs and deploy following the Navy’s controversial service life extension program for the Ticonderoga-class.
