Report: USS Truman Lost Fighter While Maneuvering to Avoid Houthi Attack

 

The crew of the carrier USS Harry S. Truman lost a strike fighter over the side while repositioning it belowdecks, the Navy confirmed Monday. Two officials told Politico that at the time of the casualty, the carrier maneuvering to avoid a Houthi attack; separately, CNN reports that Truman was making a hard turn to dodge Houthi fire. Nimitz-class carriers are capable of (and tested for) hard maneuvering at high speed. The Navy has not officially confirmed these accounts. 

Truman is on an extended deployment in the Red Sea, and her crew is running an around-the-clock bombing campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen. They have worked continuously to keep strike sorties moving since March 15, launching and recovering fighters day and night. 

On Monday, an F/A-18E Super Hornet of fighter squadron VFA 136 was under tow in the hangar bay, attached to a tow tractor. The crew lost control of the aircraft, and the aircraft and tractor went over the side. The sailors involved in the evolution took cover and got out of the way before it went over, and only one individual sustained a minor injury. 

The Truman and her air wing remain fully mission capable, the Navy confirmed. In addition, the Truman Carrier Strike Group is operating alongside sister ship USS Carl Vinson and Vinson's escorts, forming a powerful dual carrier task force. 

One Super Hornet costs about $70 million, or roughly three percent of the $2.3 billion cost overrun on carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. An investigation into the cause of the casualty is under way. 

Since March 15, the Truman and Vinson strike groups - aided by shore-based elements - have launched 800 separate airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. The frequency of Houthi attacks has declined under the weight of U.S. bombardment of the group's storehouses, workshops and launch positions, but the group remains capable of launching missiles and drones at a slower pace.

Truman has had two other mishaps this deployment: she collided with a merchant ship on February 12, damaging her hull above the waterline; and her escort USS Gettysburg accidentally shot down an F/A-18 fighter in a friendly-fire incident in December.