According to Fox News, the US nearly shot down a second friendly plane.
During an operation against the Houthis in yemen, two of the missile cruiser's own F/A-18 aircraft were apparently attacked.
According to a military source cited by Fox news, during this weekend's attacks against the Houthis in yemen, a second US Navy plane barely avoided a friendly missile.
The US Central Command said that the missile cruiser USS Gettysburg accidentally hit a jet from the carrier Harry S. Truman on Saturday. The F/A-18 Super Hornet's navigator and pilot managed to escape and survived.As it was getting ready to land on the Truman, a second Super Hornet was targeted by a Gettysburg missile, a source told Fox news on Tuesday. According to Fox, the F/A-18 had to make evasive manoeuvres when the SM-2 missile approached within 30 meters.
According to the source, "the cruiser nearly shot down two friendly jets."
The US Navy stated that it was looking into whether the second SM-2 missile fired by the Gettysburg had targeted the second jet.
The cruiser'mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman,' according to a statement released by Central Command on Sunday, which omitted any reference to the second aircraft.The stricken bomber was attempting to land on the carrier after refuelling one of the jets that bombed yemen, according to Fox's source, who maintained this was untrue.
About ten miles away, the tanker crew was making their way back to land on the carrier. Fox cited the source as stating, "They knew the missile was guiding and punched out about three seconds before the missile hit the jet."
Additionally, the source claimed that Navy pilots were "angry" about the incident and questioned the crew of the missile cruiser's "insufficient" training. According to reports, since the friendly-fire incident, the Truman administration has not attacked Yemen.During the mission, US ships shot down an anti-ship cruise missile and several Houthi drones over the red Sea, according to CENTCOM's initial report. Later, the Houthis claimed to have shot down the US F/A-18.
For months, the Shia group that rules a large portion of yemen has been attacking Israeli-affiliated commercial vessels in an effort to put pressure on West Jerusalem to halt its attack on the Palestinians in Gaza. Following the start of Anglo-American air and missile strikes in January, the Houthis extended their activities to include warships and other US and UK vessels.