Jump to content
SASS Wire Forum

Recommended Posts

Posted

Oooopsie!

 

 

Two U.S. Navy aviators are safe after their two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet was shot down by an American ship by mistake, according to a late Saturday statement from U.S. Central Command.

The Super Hornet, assigned to aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), was flying over the Red Sea when guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) fired upon it, according to the CENTCOM statement.

“Both pilots were safely recovered. Initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” reads a statement from CENTCOM.
“This incident was not the result of hostile fire, and a full investigation is underway.”

A Navy official told USNI News the incident occurred around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday or about 7 p.m. East Coast time on Saturday. The Super Hornet was assigned to Carrier Air Wing One, and embarked aboard Truman, an official told USNI News. While the CENTCOM statement didn’t specify the squadron, the only two-seat F/A-18F squadron embarked aboard Truman are the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 from Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.

The strike group is tasked as part of the U.S.-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, the mission to protect merchant traffic in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks from Yemen. Previous strike groups and independently deployed U.S. guided-missile warships have intercepted dozens of drones, guided cruise missiles and ballstic missiles as part of their mission.

Over the weekend, U.S. forces attacked the Yemeni capital of Sanna striking a missile storage facility and a command and control node, according to a Saturday statement from CENTCOM.

“CENTCOM forces conducted the deliberate strikes to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden,” reads the statement.

Gettysburg, homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., is assigned to Truman and entered the Red Sea with the carrier last week, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker.

The commander of the cruiser is the air defense commander for the strike group and is responsible for detecting and defeating threats to the carrier and its escorts.

The cruiser has more than 100 vertical launch cells capable of firing missiles capable of intercepting a variety of threats. Officials have not yet disclosed the weapon the crew of the cruiser used in the incident.

Truman, its escorts and airwing deployed from Norfolk on Sept 23. Before entering the Red Sea, the strike group operated in the Atlantic off Norway and the U.K.

  • Like 1
  • Confused 2
  • Sad 3
Posted

No IFF operating on the plane or on the ship’s Combat Systems. Heads are gonna roll!

  • Like 5
Posted

SDJ -  Thanks for posting this podcast. What is the link for that host?  Thank God the crew of the one plane got out!  When the A/C (Aircraft Commander/pilot) told his WSO, "We gotta go!" it became the backseater's decision to pull the handle to initiate both ejection seats because the WSO has to go first. Otherwise, if the pilot's seat fires first, the WSO would literally become toast from the rocket plume of the pilot's seat! The pilot could eject by himself, if the guy in back was incapacitated, but under "normal" circumstances, the back seat fires first, followed seconds later by the front.

 

It is going to take some time to sort out what actually happened, for the reasons stated in the podcast. it will NOT be covered up! Speaking of toast, I suspect the skipper of the CG's carrear is. The Navy has been firing CO's for "lack of confidence in their ability to lead" for a lot less!  This is no game! Whoever said that there are no American military in harm's way in the Middle East, should have know better...and didn't!

 

God Bless them all!

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, Pards!

  • Like 1
Posted
9 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

SDJ -  Thanks for posting this podcast. What is the link for that host?  Thank God the crew of the one plane got out!  When the A/C (Aircraft Commander/pilot) told his WSO, "We gotta go!" it became the backseater's decision to pull the handle to initiate both ejection seats because the WSO has to go first. Otherwise, if the pilot's seat fires first, the WSO would literally become toast from the rocket plume of the pilot's seat! The pilot could eject by himself, if the guy in back was incapacitated, but under "normal" circumstances, the back seat fires first, followed seconds later by the front.

 

It is going to take some time to sort out what actually happened, for the reasons stated in the podcast. it will NOT be covered up! Speaking of toast, I suspect the skipper of the CG's carrear is. The Navy has been firing CO's for "lack of confidence in their ability to lead" for a lot less!  This is no game! Whoever said that there are no American military in harm's way in the Middle East, should have know better...and didn't!

 

God Bless them all!

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, Pards!

 

For all 2 seat models of the FA-18 if the pilot initiates the ejection sequence the back seat will always fire first.  System is designed that way and AFAIK there is no way for the front seat to fire without the back seat ejecting first. 

 

In the F-4 there was a selector switch that would allow the back seat to fire without the front seat also firing. However if the front seat initiated the ejection the back seat automatically fired first no matter the position of the selector switch.

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)
On 12/25/2024 at 6:30 AM, Sedalia Dave said:

 

For all 2 seat models of the FA-18 if the pilot initiates the ejection sequence the back seat will always fire first.  System is designed that way and AFAIK there is no way for the front seat to fire without the back seat ejecting first. 

 

In the F-4 there was a selector switch that would allow the back seat to fire without the front seat also firing. However if the front seat initiated the ejection the back seat automatically fired first no matter the position of the selector switch.

 

SD is correct. There's a lever-type switch in the aft cockpit that functions just like he said. With a rated aircrew in the back seat, like in this incident, the switch is set (by the backseater) to AFT INITIATE, which means that either seat can pull the handle and both will go (with the aft seat always firing first). Without a rated aircrew in the back seat, for someone like a VIP rider, the handle would be left in the default position of NORM. In this position, if the pilot pulls, both go; but if the person in the aft seat pulls, only he/she goes, and the pilot remains in the plane.

 

This was a giant foul-up and it's a miracle that nobody was killed or seriously injured. Nevermind the fact that we now need to salvage a $100 million aircraft from an area consistently under hostile fire. And yes, they almost shot a second one out of the sky, too. The second one was 5 miles in trail of the one they hit, flying an extremely standardized instrument approach that has probably been flown on 99% of night recoveries at US aircraft carriers since forever. In fact, these guys had flown the same approach earlier that evening! Again, I'm very thankful nobody was killed or hurt.

Edited by Roger Ball
  • Like 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.