US Coast Guard ship nearly shot down two friendly fighter jets in the Red Sea

Fox News reported on December 24th that a second US fighter jet narrowly avoided being hit by a missile mistakenly fired by a US Coast Guard vessel, after the first fighter jet exploded upon impact.

The cruiser USS Gettysburg

On the night of December 21, the US Navy's littoral combat ship USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired a missile at an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet that was taking off from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, according to information from the US Central Command on December 22.

Both the co-pilot of the F/A-18 Super Hornet survived by activating the ejection mechanism just before the missile struck. One person sustained minor injuries.

However, on December 24th, Fox News, citing informed sources, reported that a second F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, flying behind the first one, was also targeted by the coast guard vessel and fired missiles.

When the SM-2 missile was only about 30 meters away, the fighter pilot reacted quickly and maneuvered the aircraft to evade it. Fox News also reported that the two fighters were shot down while landing on the aircraft carrier after an airstrike targeting Houthi forces in Yemen and successfully completing an aerial refueling mission.

"The Coast Guard vessel nearly shot down two friendly aircraft," a source revealed to Fox News.

US Navy must change to counter 'Iran's best' weapons in the Red Sea

Previously, the U.S. Central Command had not mentioned the incident involving a second aircraft. After Fox News reported on the incident, a U.S. Navy official acknowledged that the littoral combat ship USS Gettysburg had launched a second missile, adding that the force was investigating whether another fighter jet was the target of this missile.

According to the same source, the US Navy pilots were extremely angry about the friendly fire incident and questioned whether the coast guard crew had received adequate training.

There are reports that the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman has halted its attacks on the Houthi rebels following the incident on December 21st.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tau-tuan-duyen-my-suyt-nua-ban-ha-2-tiem-kich-dong-doi-o-bien-do-185241225112740029.htm