The U.S. Central Command for the Middle East and Africa (CENTCOM) announced that an F/A-18 fighter jet of the U.S. Navy was shot down on Sunday over the Red Sea in “an apparent case of friendly fire.”

The fighter jet was downed by a missile accidentally launched from the USS Gettysburg cruiser.

Both pilots aboard the aircraft ejected and were safely recovered, with one of them sustaining minor injuries.

According to U.S. Central Command; a Friendly-Fire Incident occurred earlier tonight over the Red Sea, with a U.S. Navy F/A-18F “Super Hornet” from the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) being Accidentally Shot-Down by the Ticonderoga-Class Guided-Missile Cruiser, USS Gettysburg…

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 22, 2024

The fighter jet had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

For months now, U.S. armed forces have been regularly striking Houthi rebel positions in Yemen. However, CENTCOM, as reported by the Associated Press, did not clarify the mission of the fighter jet at the time of the incident.