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 American forces 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 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 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 military said the two pilots safely ejected from their F/A-18 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 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.
