The US Navy has lost a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet strike fighter in what appears to be a non-combat incident in the Red Sea.
The mishap occurred aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, which is deployed in the Red Sea as part of an air campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen.
That effort began in late 2023 but has been significantly stepped up by the Trump administration. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked commercial and military ship traffic in the region with one-way drones and long-range missiles – action that escalated following Israel’s bloody military operation in Gaza.
While the Truman and its combat air wing have launched repeated combat sorties in recent weeks, including F/A-18 strikes prematurely disclosed by secretary of defense Pete Hegseth in a now-infamous group chat message, the recent Super Hornet loss appears to be the result of a shipboard mishap, rather than enemy activity.
The navy says the single-seat fighter was being towed across the Truman’s open air flight deck by a small, wheeled tractor when the crew lost control.
“The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,” the navy says.
One sailor sustained minor injuries in the incident, according to the Associated Press, citing an unnamed Pentagon official. The navy has launched an investigation.
Each F/A-18E/F costs around $60 million.
While the aircraft loss was not the direct result of enemy activity, unverified reporting from CNN suggests Houthi fire may have indirectly contributed to the mishap.
Citing an unnamed US official, the network reports that the Truman made a hard turn to evade incoming Houthi fire, with the unscheduled manoeuvre playing a part in the ground crew losing control of the fighter jet.
This is not the first US combat aircraft, nor even the first Super Hornet, lost in Washington’s Red Sea campaign.
Last December, a two-seat F/A-18F, also from the Truman, was mistakenly identified as a threat by one of the guided missile ships escorting the carrier and fired upon. Both aviators aboard the Super Hornet ejected just moments before their fighter was destroyed by an anti-air missile, and were recovered.
The navy says the Truman’s on-board air wing remains “fully mission-capable”, despite the two fighter losses. Each Nimitz-class carrier can hold upwards of 80 combat aircraft.
At least six General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9A Reaper uncrewed aircraft belonging to the US Air Force (USAF) have also been lost to Houthi fire in recent months.
Both active duty officers and outside observers have described the situation in the Red Sea as the US Navy’s heaviest period of sustained combat since World War II. Individual Houthi air attacks have included firing dozens of missiles and one-way UAVs at US naval ships.
Carrier-based fighter squadrons have conducted hundreds of combat sorties over the past year, as multiple flattops have rotated through the region. Ground-based fighters and bombers from the USAF have also supported the effort.
Several notable aviation milestones have been recorded during the campaign, including the first combat mission by a Lockheed Martin F-35C and the first air-to-air kill by an Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack fighter.
