MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
I recall when a USN F-14 shot down a USAF RF-4C in the mid-80's during an exercise. Those guys knew what they were doing but did it anyway. In this case it appears to be a genuine error, with the F-18 being identified as hostile. I suppose that is still a better outcome than what happened to the USS Starke. As in the RF-4C case, the F-18 crew ejected safely.
Two Navy pilots safely ejected from their F/A-18 into the Red Sea, with one sustaining minor injuries, according to military officials cited by multiple reports.
The USS Gettysburg "mistakenly fired on" the jet shortly after it flew off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the U.S. military's Central Command reportedly said.
The jet shot down was reportedly a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, according to the military's description.
Central Command did not elaborate on how the mix-up occurred, but said the U.S. military earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship rebel cruise missile and that sailors in the past have had just seconds to make decisions about how to respond to Houthi attacks.
Two Navy pilots safely ejected from their F/A-18 into the Red Sea, with one sustaining minor injuries, according to military officials cited by multiple reports.
The USS Gettysburg "mistakenly fired on" the jet shortly after it flew off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, the U.S. military's Central Command reportedly said.
The jet shot down was reportedly a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, according to the military's description.
Central Command did not elaborate on how the mix-up occurred, but said the U.S. military earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship rebel cruise missile and that sailors in the past have had just seconds to make decisions about how to respond to Houthi attacks.