It’s just being reported that a second Navy fighter jet was nearly shot down in the friendly fire incident in the Red Sea that happened earlier this week.
The Navy only disclosed the fighter jet that was struck down, not the other which had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit.
Here’s more from Fox News:
On the same night a U.S. Navy fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea, a second jet nearly suffered the same fate. An F/A-18 Super Hornet — flying a few miles behind the Hornet that was shot down — was forced to take evasive maneuvers after a second surface-to-air missile was fired from the cruiser USS Gettysburg, narrowly missing the second jet by 100 feet while preparing to land aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, a source with knowledge of the incident tells Fox News.
A Navy official confirmed that a second SM-2 missile was fired from USS Gettysburg, adding that the Navy is investigating whether that missile was targeting the second jet.
The Navy is also looking into whether the USS Gettysburg switched off the guidance system on the second missile. The near shoot-down of a second U.S. Navy jet has not been previously reported.
U.S. Central Command, responsible for leading airstrikes in the Middle East, including the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, said in a statement about the “friendly fire” incident earlier this week: “The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64), which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, which was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman.”
The source said that is not correct. The F/A-18 Super Hornet was attempting to land aboard Truman when it was shot down after performing a midair refueling mission for jets carrying out airstrikes over Yemen, the source said.
“It was a tanker crew returning to land on the carrier about 10 miles out. They recognized the missile was guiding and punched out about three seconds before the missile hit the jet,” the source said.
The pilot and weapons systems officer ejected and were picked up by a rescue helicopter and returned to the carrier. One suffered “minor injuries,” according to a Centcom statement.
Neither U.S. Central Command nor the Pentagon has disclosed a second American fighter jet was fired upon by the cruiser and narrowly avoided getting shot down as well.
“The cruiser almost shot down two friendly jets,” the source said.
Navy pilots are angry about the incident and question the training aboard the USS Gettysburg, the source said, calling it “insufficient.”
I hate to disparage the US Navy but this sounds a lot like DEI in my opinion and it wouldn’t shock me if that were the case. Maybe it is just a lack of training, or maybe the put someone in this position who didn’t deserve to be there. Either way, this is a huge black mark on the US Navy and the people running it. Looking at you Joe Biden.
