US loses $60m fighter jet after it falls off aircraft carrier into sea
The US navy has admitted to losing a $60 million fighter jet after it fell off an aircraft carrier into the Red Sea.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet is said to have toppled overboard when the USS Harry S Truman made a sharp turn to evade an attack by Houthi rebels in the Middle East.
A sailor is said to have sustained a minor injury during the incident.
A US official told CNN that the aircraft, which are valued at around $60 million, had sunk. It is currently unclear whether authorities intend to mount a recovery effort.
'The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard,' the US navy said in a statement.
'Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is under way.'
Fighter jets are routinely towed around the hangar deck to position them for military operations or other work.
The US navy added that the Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group, which is composed of the aircraft carrier, nine aircraft squadrons, three guided-missile destroyers, and the cruiser USS Gettysburg, are still 'mission capable'.
The Houthis, the Iranian-backed Yemen rebel group, said earlier on Monday that it had launched a drone and missile attack on the aircraft carrier.
The USS Harry S Truman was deployed to the Middle East in mid December, where it spent two months defending commercial shipping from Houthi attacks.
It collided with a merchant vessel in February and was sent to a US navy base in Greece for repairs, and was redeployed to the region a couple of weeks later.
In July 2022, the US navy lost a F/A-18 Super Hornet at sea when it was blown overboard from an aircraft carrier by heavy winds near Naples.
Another Super Hornet was shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent 'friendly fire' incident in December 2024.
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