A F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet was lost at sea after falling off the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier while being towed on board, the US Navy announced in a statement.
The incident took place in the Red Sea, and initial reports from the scene indicated that the aircraft carrier made a sharp turn to avoid Houthi rebel fire, contributing to the fighter jet falling overboard, said a US official quoted by CNN.
Militants in Yemen claimed on Monday that they launched a drone and missile attack on the aircraft carrier in the Red Sea as part of the major operation the US military is conducting against the Iran-backed armed group.
All personnel on board are being checked, and a sailor suffered minor injuries, the US Navy reported.
"The F/A-18E was actively being towed into the hangar when the aircraft movement team lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and the towing tractor were lost overboard. Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate actions to move away from the aircraft before it fell. An investigation is underway," the US Navy statement said.
A second US official confirmed to CNN that the aircraft has sunk.
An individual F/A-18 fighter jet costs over $60 million, according to the US Navy.
American navy aircraft carriers - the largest warships in the world and some of the most complex weapons of the United States, with a length of nearly 305 meters and a displacement of nearly 100,000 tons - are surprisingly maneuverable for their size.
How did the aircraft carrier "evade" the rebels' attack?
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, like Truman, are powered by two nuclear reactors that drive four propeller shafts and can reach speeds of over 54 km/h.
Exact details of the turn Truman made to avoid Houthi rebel fire have not been made public, but photos and videos of the ship and other Nimitz-class aircraft carriers on the Pentagon's website show that these massive vessels can perform complex maneuvers in emergencies.
Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, told CNN that carriers trying to avoid missile attacks use a "zig-zag" tactic.
"You typically make a series of 30 to 40-degree course changes. Each lasts about 30 seconds in each direction, but the turn starts abruptly. It's like driving a car in a zig-zag pattern," he said.
"The ship banks about 10 to 15 degrees in the turn but moves about 100 to 200 meters away from any likely point where it could be targeted if it's moving at maximum speed," Schuster detailed.
The attack group formed by the Truman aircraft carrier remains deployed in the Middle East. The US Navy emphasized on Monday that the carrier strike group and its air wing "remain fully mission capable."
An enemy-targeted aircraft carrier and followed by misfortune
The USS Harry S. Truman has been repeatedly targeted by rebel attacks. And in February, it collided with a commercial vessel near Egypt, with no casualties reported.
Another F/A-18 aircraft from this carrier was also involved in an incident in the Red Sea in December when the USS Gettysburg cruiser in the Red Sea mistakenly fired upon it. The aircraft was shot down, but both pilots safely ejected.
Other US Navy ships in the region have also come under Houthi militant fire. In early 2024, an American destroyer in the Red Sea had to use its Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, the last line of defense against missile attacks, when a rebel-launched cruise missile approached within a mile (1.6 km) - and seconds from impact.
Attacks on American warships in the region began after the US Navy intervened to prevent the rebel group from targeting commercial ships heading to Israel in protest of its invasion of Gaza in October 2023.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, prompting threats of retaliation against US warships from the rebel group.
- The formidable weapon of war China has built and the response the United States is preparing (Video)
"Yemen will not cease its support operations for the Palestinian people until the Israeli aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted," forces controlled by Yemeni militants announced in a statement issued earlier this month, after US airstrikes on an oil tanker port in western Yemen killed dozens of people.
The group claimed on Monday that an American airstrike hit a prison housing African migrants, killing dozens of people. The US military made no immediate comment.