The incident in the Red Sea, which was extremely unpleasant for the American Navy, continues to be investigated. Fox News, citing its own sources, claims that the cruiser Gettysburg not only shot down an American fighter, but also almost shot down a second one.
The incident took place in the Red Sea over the weekend. The cruiser, named after the city near which the decisive defeat of the Confederates occurred during the Civil War, is on combat watch, covering aircraft carriers and, in theory, fighting the Houthis. Nothing has been reported about the successes of the Gettysburg, but the crew has already managed to get into trouble.
For some unknown reason, the sailors mistook a couple of air targets on the radar for enemy targets. And they launched anti-aircraft missiles at a couple of F/A-18 carrier-based fighter-bombers flying in the area. One of the fighters was unable to escape – it was shot down by an American missile. The pilots managed to eject and survived.
A US Central Command statement earlier acknowledged friendly fire from the cruiser, but only mentioned one aircraft.
“A source familiar with the incident told Fox News that an F/A-18 Super Hornet flying several miles behind the downed Hornet was forced to take evasive action after the USS Gettysburg fired a second surface-to-air missile that came within 100 feet of hitting the second plane as it was coming in to land on the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman,” the network reported.
The crew of the second plane was able to save the aircraft and landed safely on the aircraft carrier.
Now the US naval aviation pilots are extremely angry and are asking their commanders – who and how trained the sailors of the Gettysburg? The command is trying to figure out why the cruiser suddenly started shooting at its own and why the “friend or foe” system did not work.
Meanwhile, the Houthis, with whom the American fleet is fighting so desperately, are rubbing their hands with glee. They did not have to launch any missiles or drones to destroy the American fighter.
Military experts point out that the American fleet has not had to engage in combat with a serious enemy since the end of World War II. And the excellent combat training of American sailors is present only in Pentagon advertising and Hollywood blockbusters.
