US fighter jet shot down in ‘apparent case of friendly fire’ over Red Sea
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WASHINGTON - The US military said it mistakenly shot down one of its own fighter aircraft over the Red Sea early on Dec 22, forcing both pilots to eject.
Both were rescued, one with minor injuries, after the “apparent case of friendly fire”, which is being investigated, US Central Command said in a statement.
The fighter was an F/A-18 Hornet flying off from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman.
One of the carrier’s escort ships, the missile cruiser Gettysburg, “mistakenly fired on and hit” the plane, the statement said.
The Red Sea has been a hotbed of military activity for more than a year as US forces battle Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia, which has carried out attacks against shipping in the region.
The US military said it had fired on Houthi drones and missiles over the Red Sea on Dec 21, and had attacked command-and-control and missile storage sites in Sanaa. REUTERS
