TEHRAN, December 22 (MNA) – Two US Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent "friendly fire" incident, the US military said.Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said.

On December 15, Central Command acknowledged that Truman had entered the West Asia region, but hadn't specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.

"The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18," Central Command said in a statement, AP reported.

From the military's description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

It wasn't immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.

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