US loses second fighter jet in Red Sea in just over a week

For the second time in eight days, the US Navy has lost a multi-million-dollar warplane in the Red Sea, officials say.

The two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet, worth around $67 million, went overboard on Tuesday after failing to land on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier on Tuesday, the US Central Command said.

According to a defense official, the warplane fell off the ship after its tail hook failed to catch the wire that slows down the aircraft. “The arrestment failed, causing the aircraft to go overboard.”

Both aviators aboard ejected safely, officials said.

This incident follows a similar mishap just eight days earlier, when another $67 million F/A-18E Super Hornet fell off the same aircraft carrier.

US Navy fighter jet falls into sea as aircraft carrier tries to evade Yemeni attack

The US Navy says an F/A-18E Super Hornet, worth $67.4 million, fell overboard the USS Harry S. Truman and was lost in the Red Sea after the aircraft carrier swerved to avoid an attack from Yemeni Armed Forces.

That Super Hornet, along with the tow tractor that was pulling it, fell off the warship on April 28. It “was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft,” the Navy said.

The Truman is one of two US warships operating in West Asia, where US forces have been launching airstrikes on Yemen to stop attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The Yemeni armed forces have been attacking Israeli and US targets in the sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza since Tel Aviv launched its devastating war on the besieged Palestinian territory in October 2023.

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