A missile cruiser reportedly targeted two of its own F/A-18 jets during an operation against Yemen’s Houthis
A second US Navy jet narrowly escaped a friendly missile during this weekend’s airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, Fox News has reported citing a military source.
On Saturday, the missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly struck a plane from the carrier Harry S. Truman, according to the US Central Command. The pilot and the navigator of the F/A-18 Super Hornet were able to eject and survived.
A second Super Hornet found itself targeted by a missile from the Gettysburg as it was preparing to land aboard the Truman, a source told Fox News on Tuesday. The SM-2 missile came within 30 meters of the F/A-18, which had to take evasive maneuvers, according to Fox.
“The cruiser almost shot down two friendly jets,” the source was quoted as saying.
The US Navy confirmed that the Gettysburg had fired a second SM-2 missile and said it was investigating whether that missile had targeted the second jet.
In its statement on Sunday, the Central Command said that the cruiser had “mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman,” without mentioning the second plane.
Fox’s source, however, said this was inaccurate and that the stricken plane was trying to land on the carrier after refueling one of the jets that bombed Yemen.
“It was a tanker crew returning to land on the carrier about 10 miles out. They recognized the missile was guiding and punched out about three seconds before the missile hit the jet,” Fox quoted the source as saying.
The source also said that Navy pilots were “angry” about the incident and questioned the “insufficient” training of the missile cruiser’s crew. The Truman has reportedly not launched any strikes against Yemen after the friendly-fire incident.
CENTCOM initially said that US ships had downed multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea during the operation. The Houthis subsequently claimed credit for taking down the US F/A-18.
The Shia group that controls much of Yemen has been targeting commercial vessels linked to Israel for months, seeking to pressure West Jerusalem into stopping its offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza. The Houthis expanded their operations to US and UK vessels – including warships – after Anglo-American air and missile strikes began in January.
