Friendly fire incident over Red Sea

[Zaphod58]

The USS Gettysburg has shot down a US Navy F-18F Super Hornet off the USS Harry S Truman over the Red Sea in a friendly fire incident. Both crew members ejected and were recovered with minor injuries to one crew member.  Gettysburg is part of the Truman strike group, and is one of only three Ticonderoga class cruisers that completed the Ticonderoga modernization program, extending their life to 2029. The GAO released a damning report last week about the program, and the Navy spending on it. The Navy spent over $3.5B ($1.84B on non-completed ships, and $1.9B on completed ships) on the program, only to see four ships being retired before completing upgrades, and three completing the program. The four ships were not completed because the Navy lacked funding for the program.

The F-18 involved was most likely participating in strikes on Houthi missile storage and command and control facilities in Yemen, and was returning to the ship when the incident happened. The F-18F is the two seat version of the F-18 Super Hornet, and includes a weapons system operator that flies in the rear cockpit. 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said.
Both pilots were recovered alive, with one suffering minor injuries, but the incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become after a year of ongoing attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was.

https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/ap-t...tary-says/