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When the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier lost an F-18 fighter jet in May because of an arresting wire failure, the crew was in the midst of “significantly stressful deployment” because of operations against the Houthis in Yemen, according to a Navy investigation report released Thursday.
The Navy said in a statement Thursday that investigations into a series of accidents involving the Truman carrier strike group “reviewed how a Carrier Strike Group prepares for and responds to adversity during combat operations.”
From March 15 to May 6, the Truman participated in “Operation Rough Rider,” which targeted the Houthis who were attacking merchant ships and U.S. Navy ships.
During this period, aircraft flew for 52 days, including 72 hours of continuous flight operations. Flight crews conducted more than 1,000 air strikes against the Houthis with more than one million pounds of ordnance.
Over the course of its full deployment from September 2024 through May 2025, the carrier strike group had a friendly fire incident in December — when a Navy destroyer launched missiles at two F-18s — a collision with a merchant ship in February and lost two F-18s, one in April and another in May.
“The Navy is committed to being a learning organization,” Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jim Kilby said in a statement. “These investigations reinforce the need to continue investing in our people to ensure we deliver battle-ready forces to operational commanders.”
Kilby told reporters that “appropriate accountability actions have been taken,” but the investigations redacted the sections about what those actions were and whether they were taken during or after the deployment.
The investigations found a multitude of factors were to blame for each incident, but overall, the recommendations in the investigations include service members better adhering to Navy processes, especially in a combat environment.
“All of these mishaps were avoidable, whether they were combat related or not,” according to a Navy official who spoke with reporters ahead of the release of the investigations.
No service members were killed as a result of the four incidents, but there were close calls. In the friendly fire incident, the crew members of one of the F-18 fighter jets targeted in error saw the missile from the USS Gettysburg pass “one to two plane lengths” behind them, according to the investigation. The crew of the other F-18 ejected as the missile approached and were rescued by helicopter.
During the February collision near the Suez Canal, about eight personnel were working approximately 10 feet away from the area of impact. The investigation notes that if the collision had occurred about 100 feet forward, it would’ve struck an area of the aircraft carrier where 120 sailors were sleeping.
All of the incidents combined cost the Navy about $164 million, according to figures released in the investigations, combined with the estimated cost of an F-18 aircraft.
When the USS Gettysburg destroyer fired two missiles at aircraft flying back to the Truman, one crew ejected, leaving the estimated $67 million F-18 jet behind. After the February collision, temporarily fixing the impacts carried a price tag of about $685,000, with a full repair expected post-deployment.
The investigations into the two F-18 losses in April and May found the estimated cost was $36,141,169 and $60,259,238, respectively, including the cost of other damaged equipment.
