An F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet lands on the deck of the US Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, during a NATO vigilance activity NEPTUNE SHIELD 2022 (NESH22) on eastern Mediterranean Sea on May 23, 2022. Photo: VCG

A US Navy cruiser mistakenly shot down a friendly Super Hornet fighter jet over the Red Sea on Sunday amid the US military's intensive operations on the Houthis. A Chinese military expert said the Houthis may have exerted significant pressure on US forces, resulting in likely diminished combat efficiency and more operational errors. 

A two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman was mistakenly shot down by the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg over the Red Sea at around 3 am local time on Sunday, according to the US Naval Institute's USNI News. Two US Navy aviators are safe, the report claimed.

Citing a statement from the US Central Command, the USNI News said that a full investigation is underway.

The fighter was flying off the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman when one of the carrier's escort ships, the missile cruiser Gettysburg, "mistakenly fired on and hit" the plane, Reuters reported.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries, according to a report by the AP.

The AP called the incident "the most serious incident to threaten troops" in over a year of America targeting the Houthis.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, highlighted the operational environment surrounding the incident. He told the Global Times on Sunday that such an unusual incident was likely influenced by attacks from the Houthi drones and missiles that kept coming at the US forces. 

The Red Sea has witnessed more military activities for more than a year. The US military said it had fired on Houthi drones and missiles over the Red Sea on Saturday, and had attacked command-and-control and missile storage sites in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Reuters reported on Sunday.

According to Wang, the drones and missiles of Houthi militia forced the US military to keep responding, leading to operational fatigue, and rendering it overly reactive to perceived threats. The scenario could be like: After the US warship had intercepted multiple drones, it suddenly spotted another object, and without a second thought it opened fire, only to accurately hit a friendly aircraft.

It showed that as combat goes on, especially when the opponents use new tactics such as the deployment of unmanned equipment, the US military's combat efficiency could decrease over time, Wang said.

From a technical point of view, it is plausible that the US warship had skipped the identification friend or foe (IFF) procedure to be more responsive to Houthi pressures. Another aspect is that the US military's combat information-sharing system is likely lacking optimal efficiency, otherwise the warship should have known that it was a friendly aircraft, Wang noted.