US defence shoots down own aircraft; 2 pilots safely eject
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Representational.
Washington: The United States defence shot down one of its own fighter jets in a friendly fire over the Red Sea on Saturday. However, the two US Navy pilots safely ejected themselves from the craft, CNN reported, citing a US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement.
Initial assessments inferred that both the pilots had recovered, while one of the crew members sustained minor injuries.
CENTCOM said that an F/A-18 aircraft was operating from the USS Harry S Truman when the USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired at it. A Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, the USS Gettysburg is part of the Truman carrier strike group. It had entered the waters of the Middle East a week ago.
CENTCOM said that a full investigation is going on and stressed that the incident was not the result of hostile fire. The statement comes when the Iran-backed Houthi militant group of Yemen repeatedly made claims that they have struck US warships operating in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Since the war in Gaza started, the US has kept a near-constant presence with major Navy warships in the region. The Houthis had targeted ships in the Red Sea, which is one of the world’s busiest waterways, claiming that the attacks were in response to the war in Gaza.
However, a fresh incident of “friendly fire” occurs when the US carries out airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. It had struck a missile storage facility and command-and-control facility in the capital city, Sana’a.
CENTCOM said that US forces shot down a one-way attack drone and an anti-ship cruise missile.