Missiles have been flying back and forth between Israel and the Houthis for some days now. The US Navy joined the action overnight but shot down one of its own planes in the process. “The 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,” Central Command said in a statement, reported AP. Both pilots ejected and were rescued, it said. AP notes that it wasn’t 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.
The incident happened while US forces were conducting air strikes against Houthi military assets including what Centcom said was a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility. “During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi one way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and an anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) over the Red Sea,” it said.
