Last week, over the Red Sea, the Navy lost an F-18F Super Hornet to friendly fire. The aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from the cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64). The Gettysburg was part of the Strike group assigned to the carrier USS Truman (CVN-75), where the Super Hornet was operating from. Fortunately, both pilots aboard the F-18 were able to successfully eject and were subsequently rescued, but the accident was costly since the valuable fighter was destroyed.
The Truman Strike group was operating against the Houthi rebels from Yemen. Ever since the October 7 attack on Israel, the Houthi’s have been stirring up trouble, primarily against shipping through the Red Sea. The rebels are employing primarily missiles and drones in these attacks and can fill the skies with these threats. The Houthis are a proxy of Iran, like Hamas and Hezbollah. This is one of many foreign entanglements that the new administration will address in two weeks upon assuming office.