$70M Navy F-18 fighter jet falls into Red Sea off the USS Harry S Truman

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The U.S. Navy on Monday said that an aircraft carrier responsible for launching strikes in the Red Sea against Houthi terrorists lost an F/A-18 Super Hornet that went overboard. 

The USS Harry S. Truman lost the fighter jet and a tow tractor while operating in the vast waterway. 

The plane was actively under tow in a hangar bay when the crew lost control of the aircraft. The jet and tow then went overboard and were lost, the Navy said. 

Sailors towing the aircraft took “immediate action” to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard, the Navy said.

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An F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet is seen landing on the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman during a NATO exercise in May 2022. (Andreas Solero/AFP via Getty Images)

All naval personnel were accounted for, though one sailor sustained minor injuries. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Navy for more information.

The F-18 Super Hornet is estimated to cost approximately $67.4 million, according to the Navy Air Systems Command. 

This was not the first fighter jet to fall off the USS Harry S. Truman. An F/A-18 Super Hornet was lost at sea after falling off the aircraft carrier near Naples, Italy, after it was blown overboard by “unexpected” heavy winds in July 2022. 

In December 2024, an F/A-18 Super Hornet was shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S. military said at the time.

Despite the most recent loss, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, a coalition of U.S. warships deployed to the Red Sea, and an air wing remain fully mission-capable, officials said.

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This image shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on Saturday, March 15. (U.S. Navy via AP)

The strike group consists of the Truman aircraft carrier and nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28, and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg.

The aircraft carrier has been operating in the Red Sea, where it has launched strikes against Houthi terrorists in Yemen.  

The Iran-backed group has claimed to have attacked the USS Harry S. Truman and its accompanying warships in recent weeks, as well as against merchant vessels navigating the Red Sea.

Houthi fighters are pictured next to U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Images/Getty Images)

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The attacks escalated after President Donald Trump launched a military campaign against the group on March 15. The Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas, following its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. 

The U.S. military has pummeled over 800 targets since mid-March in a campaign aimed at eliminating the Houthis, according to a recent update from U.S. Central Command. 

Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.