The US army shot down its warplanes by firing missiles from warships in the Red Sea during the bombing of Yemen. The plane crashed, but its pilots were rescued alive.
The US military claimed that the incident was not caused by the enemy, but rather by accidental or friendly fire.
US Central Command said in a statement that the pilots were able to exit safely. One crew member was slightly injured.
It was also reported that the F/A-18 Hornet took off from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman. At that time, the cruiser USS Gettysburg accidentally fired on it. The incident is being fully investigated.
For more than a year, the Red Sea has been the focus of multifaceted US military operations. The Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi group has repeatedly claimed responsibility for attacks on American warships deployed in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, the United States has maintained a near-permanent presence of major naval warships in the area. They say the Houthis are targeting their ships in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways.
Meanwhile, on the day the warplane was shot down, the United States carried out air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The United States claimed to have struck a missile depot and a command and control facility in the capital, Sanaa. They say the US also shot down a unidirectional attack drone and an anti-ship cruise missile.
But the Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populated region, have repeatedly said they will not stop attacks on Israel and its allies until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.