An investigation is underway into how an F/A-18E Super Hornet and a tow tractor were lost at sea after going overboard off the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea on Monday, according to a Navy spokeswoman.
All personnel aboard the carrier are safe and accounted for, though one sailor sustained a minor injury, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Lauren Chatmas said in a statement. The Super Hornet was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 136.
“The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” Chatmas added. “Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard.”
Each F/A-18 fighter aircraft costs roughly $60 million, CNN reported.
The U.S. military has been engaged in a military campaign, dubbed Operation Rough Rider, against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen since March 15. U.S. forces have hit more than 800 targets, killing hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous leaders in the past five weeks.
The USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Carl Vinson, another aircraft carrier, are deployed in the Red Sea to carry out the United States’s mission.
TRUMP’S DIPLOMATIC OVERTURES TO PUTIN FALL ON DEAF EARS
The USS Gettysburg accidentally shot down another Super Hornet over the Red Sea during the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2024. This F/A-18 conducted its initial mission, returned to the USS Harry S. Truman, and took off again “to provide air defense support” from incoming drones and anti-ship cruise missiles, when it was fired upon by the USS Gettysburg, according to a U.S. defense official.
A second U.S. aircraft was nearly shot down during that incident.
