Free Republic

The good news is that the pilots are safe. There were no fatalities, but it could have been a tragic accident. We have confirmed reports of a friendly fire incident occurring in the Red Sea, where an F-18 fighter jet was blasted out of the sky. American forces have been conducting airstrikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The fighter jet was accidentally shot down by a cruise missile cruiser, which is under investigation. Both pilots were able to eject from the aircraft and rescued shortly thereafter (via USNI News)

USS GETTYSBURG, At sea (NNS) -- While on patrol in the western Caribbean Sea, USS Gettysburg (CG 64), with its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, completed a major drug interdiction in January. Assigned under the operational control of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, Gettysburg is deployed as part of a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force conducting counter-narcoterrorism operations in the Western hemisphere. The operation resulted in the seizure of approximately 1.5 tons of cocaine and eight suspected drug traffickers. After boarding and thoroughly searching the vessel, Gettysburg discovered and seized 50 bales of narcotics. Following the seizure, the narcotics...