US Navy loses F-18 jet overboard as Houthis target aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in Red Sea
In this handout image provided by the US NAVY the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transits the Strait of Gibraltar, November 25, 2024 (AFP Photo)
A U.S. F-18 fighter jet and a tow tractor from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman went overboard while operating in the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy said Monday.
“USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 and a tow tractor as the aircraft carrier operated in the Red Sea,” the Navy said in a statement.
All personnel were accounted for, with one sailor sustaining a minor injury, it added.
The Navy said the F/A-18E was “actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft,” causing both the aircraft and tow tractor to fall overboard. “Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard,” the statement added.
An investigation into the incident is underway.
Despite the loss, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and its embarked air wing remain “fully mission capable,” according to the Navy. The strike group includes the Harry S. Truman, nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28, and the cruiser Gettysburg.
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 and a tow tractor as the aircraft carrier operated in the Red Sea, April 28. Full statement here: https://t.co/6WVScLKiRj
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) April 28, 2025
Houthis target USS Harry S. Truman and other warships
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility Monday for a military operation targeting the USS Harry S. Truman and other warships in the northern Red Sea.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sare’e said in a televised statement that the group’s air and naval forces conducted a joint operation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones in response to “continued American aggression” against Yemen. He claimed that the carrier was forced to retreat toward the far northern Red Sea following the attack.
Sare’e warned that Yemeni forces “will continue to target and pursue the aircraft carrier and all hostile warships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the aggression against Yemen ceases.”
At least 687 killed, dozens injured in US airstrikes
Separately, at least 68 people were killed and 47 others injured Monday in U.S. airstrikes on a shelter for African migrants in Yemen’s northern Saada province, according to the Houthi group.
The U.S. has carried out more than 1,200 airstrikes in Yemen since March 15, killing over 225 civilians and injuring more than 430, mostly women and children, according to Houthi figures that exclude casualties among their fighters.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis and later threatened to “completely annihilate them.”
The Houthis have targeted commercial and military ships transiting the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023, citing solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 52,000 people have been killed during a brutal Israeli assault for over 19 months.
The group briefly halted attacks following a cease-fire in Gaza in January between Israel and Hamas but resumed operations after Israel renewed airstrikes on Gaza last month.
