Both pilots were rescued alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries.
But the incident underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become amid the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.
The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, Centcom said.
On 15 December Centcom acknowledged the Truman had entered the Middle East, but hadn’t specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.
Since the Truman’s arrival, the US has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area.
Centcom forces also shot down multiple Houthi, one-way attack, uncrewed aerial vehicles, as well as an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, Centcom said.
We all have to plug the holes, and that requires a different mindset and different sort of focus than simply escorting ships. »
