Both pilots were recovered alive but “initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” the US Central Command said late on Saturday local Florida time – where CENTCOM is headquartered.

“This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.”

CENTCOM said the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg “mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18” fighter aircraft, which was flown by the Navy pilots off another ship, the USS Harry S. Truman.

The potentially disastrous mistake underscores the dangers of a mission the US has been involved in for more than a year as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that they say are Israeli-linked.

On Saturday, the US said it struck targets in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, hours after a Houthi rebel missile wounded people in Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv.

American forces also shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, it said.

Houthis have claimed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas have been at war since Oct 7 2023.