US warship shoots down its own navy fighter jet over Red Sea in 'friendly fire'

A US Navy jet was shot down on Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent "friendly fire" incident, the US military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels.

- Associated Press

The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18, said the US military's Central Command recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area. The US military had ducted airstrikes targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels at the time, though the US military's Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.