A Navy warship mistook US fighter jets for enemy missiles and opened fire. The targeted pilot saw his life flash before his eyes. (https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-warship-fired-at-us-fighter-jets-mistaken-enemy-missiles-2025-12?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us)
Jesus. Poor pilots.
Being targeted by your own warships like that when you're least expecting it.
Fucking Hegseth moron. Half baked operation.
Quote- A US Navy warship fired missiles at two American F/A-18 fighter jets above the Red Sea last year.
- The warship mistook the fighter jets for Houthi cruise missiles, the investigation shows.
- One of the fighter jets was shot down. The other barely survived the friendly fire incident.
A US Navy pilot whose jet was mistakenly shot down by an American warship over the Red Sea (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-aircraft-carrier-eisenhower-planes-in-air-constantly-houthis-2024-2) told investigators he saw his life flash before his eyes before ejecting from the doomed aircraft.
The command investigation into the late December 2024 friendly fire incident (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-missile-cruiser-super-hornet-friendly-fire-incident-2024-12), which Business Insider reviewed prior to its release on Thursday, reveals that the warship's crew mistook two Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-super-hornet-sea-hawk-south-china-sea-crash-2025-10) fighter jets for anti-ship cruise missiles fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In a catastrophic failure, the cruiser USS Gettysburg (https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-fighter-jet-downing-another-red-sea-friendly-fire-incident-2024-12) launched surface-to-air missiles at both F/A-18s, shooting down one and nearly hitting the second. It also targeted a third friendly aircraft but never pulled the trigger.
A hit and a near-miss
The Gettysburg and the other warships in the strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-aircraft-carrier-still-damaged-months-after-collision-2025-10) deployed in September 2024 and entered the Red Sea three months later to take over Navy combat operations against the Iran-backed Houthis (https://www.businessinsider.com/who-are-houthis-yemen-rebels-attacking-ships-red-sea-2024-1), who had for almost a year at that point been attacking key shipping lanes.
Early on December 22, just seven days after entering the Red Sea, the Gettysburg accidentally shot down a Super Hornet from the Truman's air wing in what the US military described as "an apparent case of friendly fire." Both aviators, the pilot and the weapons officer, ejected safely from the roughly $60 million fighter, part of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11), the "Red Rippers."
The command investigation reveals that the friendly fire incident nearly resulted in a much larger disaster. While initial reports centered on the aircraft that was struck, the investigation reveals that a second narrowly avoided a catastrophic end, and a third was in the crosshairs.
[...]
Quote from: viper37 on December 05, 2025, 10:16:46 AMA Navy warship mistook US fighter jets for enemy missiles and opened fire. The targeted pilot saw his life flash before his eyes. (https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-warship-fired-at-us-fighter-jets-mistaken-enemy-missiles-2025-12?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us)
Jesus. Poor pilots.
Being targeted by your own warships like that when you're least expecting it. Fucking Hegseth moron. Half baked operation.
Quote- A US Navy warship fired missiles at two American F/A-18 fighter jets above the Red Sea last year.
- The warship mistook the fighter jets for Houthi cruise missiles, the investigation shows.
- One of the fighter jets was shot down. The other barely survived the friendly fire incident.
A US Navy pilot whose jet was mistakenly shot down by an American warship over the Red Sea (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-aircraft-carrier-eisenhower-planes-in-air-constantly-houthis-2024-2) told investigators he saw his life flash before his eyes before ejecting from the doomed aircraft.
The command investigation into the late December 2024 friendly fire incident (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-missile-cruiser-super-hornet-friendly-fire-incident-2024-12), which Business Insider reviewed prior to its release on Thursday, reveals that the warship's crew mistook two Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-super-hornet-sea-hawk-south-china-sea-crash-2025-10) fighter jets for anti-ship cruise missiles fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In a catastrophic failure, the cruiser USS Gettysburg (https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-fighter-jet-downing-another-red-sea-friendly-fire-incident-2024-12) launched surface-to-air missiles at both F/A-18s, shooting down one and nearly hitting the second. It also targeted a third friendly aircraft but never pulled the trigger.
A hit and a near-miss
The Gettysburg and the other warships in the strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-aircraft-carrier-still-damaged-months-after-collision-2025-10) deployed in September 2024 and entered the Red Sea three months later to take over Navy combat operations against the Iran-backed Houthis (https://www.businessinsider.com/who-are-houthis-yemen-rebels-attacking-ships-red-sea-2024-1), who had for almost a year at that point been attacking key shipping lanes.
Early on December 22, just seven days after entering the Red Sea, the Gettysburg accidentally shot down a Super Hornet from the Truman's air wing in what the US military described as "an apparent case of friendly fire." Both aviators, the pilot and the weapons officer, ejected safely from the roughly $60 million fighter, part of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11), the "Red Rippers."
The command investigation reveals that the friendly fire incident nearly resulted in a much larger disaster. While initial reports centered on the aircraft that was struck, the investigation reveals that a second narrowly avoided a catastrophic end, and a third was in the crosshairs.
[...]
If Hegseth was responsible for this, then Biden must've been even less in control than it seemed at the time.
This is way-old news. Why bring it up now, and why associate Hegseth with it?
Quote from: grumbler on December 05, 2025, 10:05:36 PMThis is way-old news. Why bring it up now, and why associate Hegseth with it?
Hegseth is my mistake, I admit.
But old news?
Dec 4, 2025, 2:05 PM ET It just got published yesterday. I don't recall hearing about this one, but you do have other, better sources than me for military news than I do.