Houthi forces in Yemen claimed their drone attacks had forced a U.S. fighter jet to fall off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, an incident that has drawn attention to the intensity of engagements in the region.
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for comment.
Why It Matters
The loss of the F-18 overboard was a blow to U.S. forces after more than a month of airstrikes against the Houthis. While the United States has not attributed its loss to the Iran-backed forces, naval analysts have suggested that it could have happened when the aircraft carrier was making maneuvers to avoid Houthi assaults.
The U.S. war on the Houthis is the first major military action ordered under President Donald Trump‘s second administration. It aims to stop the threat they pose to Red Sea shipping since they launched attacks in the name of solidarity with the Palestinians after the war in Gaza that broke out when Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
What To Know
The Houthis said they carried out a military operation targeting the Truman which resulted in the “downing of an F-18 fighter jet,” military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated in the first comments on the loss of the aircraft.
The aircraft carrier “was pursued with missiles and drones to the far north of the Red Sea,” he added.
The U.S. navy said a fighter jet, an F/A-18E Super Hornet, fell overboard into the Red Sea and that an investigation was undergoing. Satellite imagery showed the Truman making a sharp turn in the water days before it lost the plane in a possible evasive maneuver.
Yemen’s Houthi forces also said they had targeted the USS Carl Vinson carrier and its accompanying warships in the Arabian Sea using drones, following joint U.S.-UK precision airstrikes targeting the group’s stronghold in Sanaa.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X: “Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
Houthi-aligned Supreme Political Council’s Mohamed Ali al-Houthi on X: “The Brit announces an operation in Yemen to boost the morale of Trump and the American Marines, who have felt helpless and failed in the face of Yemen’s steadfastness in supporting Gaza. He also aims to ease the pressure within the American administration, which is increasingly convinced of the futility of the war on Yemen.”
Ghada Soliman, Research Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) wrote in Middle East Institue Perspectives: “What is needed to stem the tide is an international response, sparked by a thorough understanding of the threat that the Houthis pose not just in the Middle East, but globally, if the status quo is maintained.”
What Happens Next
The U.S.-Houthi conflict could intensify with U.S. threats to ratchet up the pressure and also to send a message to Iran at a time nuclear talks are ongoing.
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