{"id":119808,"date":"2024-12-22T18:53:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T18:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/2-us-navy-pilots-shot-down-over-red-sea-in-apparent-friendly-fire-incident-us-military-says-the-associated-press\/"},"modified":"2024-12-22T18:53:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T18:53:38","slug":"2-us-navy-pilots-shot-down-over-red-sea-in-apparent-friendly-fire-incident-us-military-says-the-associated-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/2-us-navy-pilots-shot-down-over-red-sea-in-apparent-friendly-fire-incident-us-military-says-the-associated-press\/","title":{"rendered":"2 US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent \u2018friendly fire\u2019 incident, US military says – The Associated Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue, File)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic, File)
CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2024. (Kaitlin Young\/U.S. Navy via AP)
This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue, File)
A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue, File)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic, File)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic, File)
CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2024. (Kaitlin Young\/U.S. Navy via AP)
CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2024. (Kaitlin Young\/U.S. Navy via AP)
This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent \u201cfriendly fire\u201d incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels<\/a><\/span>.
Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become, with ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels at the time of the friendly fire incident, though the U.S. military\u2019s Central Command did not elaborate on what the pilots\u2019 mission was and did not respond to questions from The Associated Press.
The F\/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn\u2019t specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.
\u201cThe guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F\/A-18,\u201d Central Command said in a statement.
From the military\u2019s description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F\/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the \u201cRed Rippers\u201d of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F\/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.
However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.
Since the Truman\u2019s arrival, the U.S. has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II<\/a><\/span>.
This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)
On Saturday night and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the capital of Yemen which the Houthis have held since 2014. Central Command described the strikes as targeting a \u201cmissile storage facility\u201d and a \u201ccommand-and-control facility,\u201d without elaborating.
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without offering any casualty or damage information. In Sanaa, strikes appeared particularly targeted at a mountainside known to be home to military installations. However, there were no images or information released regarding the strikes \u2014 which has happened previously when airstrikes hit vital facilities for the rebels.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, released a prerecorded statement hours later in which he claimed the rebels launched eight drones and 17 cruise missiles in their attack. He also claimed without offering any evidence that the Houthis shot down the F\/A-18, likely following a pattern of him making exaggerated claims. During the Eisenhower\u2019s deployment, he repeatedly falsely claimed the carrier had been struck by Houthi fire.
CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2024. (Kaitlin Young\/U.S. Navy via AP)
CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2024. (Kaitlin Young\/U.S. Navy via AP)
The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas\u2019 surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.
Israel\u2019s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn\u2019t distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The Houthis have seized one vessel<\/a><\/span> and sunk two in a campaign<\/a><\/span> that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel\u2019s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes<\/a><\/span>.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would act \u201cforcefully\u201d against the Houthis, as it has against other allies of Iran, \u201conly in this case, we are not acting alone.\u201d
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue, File)Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo\/Darko Bandic, File)CORRECTS YEAR TO 2024 – The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-119808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}