An F / A-18E Super Hornet launches from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea on April 28, 2025. The navy investigates what caused a super hornet and a towing tractor to die for this week. (Madelyn Cuevas / Us Navy)
A hard turn of an aircraft carrier is not enough for itself to drag a navy fighter from 67 million dollars to slip a ship, said a defense ministry manager while investigators determine how an airplane fell into the Red Sea on Monday.
The idea that a maneuver of the USS Harry S. Truman was a factor in the loss is “speculative”, said the manager, who spoke to stars and scratches under the guise of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly by name.
The navy said on Monday that a person had been slightly injured when the F / A-18E Super Hornet and a towing tractor moving the plane in a shed bay fell on board. The navy did not specify the cause.
The next day, an official of the Pentagon speaking against a background published a declaration to the media indicating that this happened “when the moving team lost control of the plane while the Truman was dynamically maneuvering”. An American official told CNN that the turn had been taken to avoid enemy fire.
There is probably a broader explanation, the manager of the Ministry of Defense who spoke with stars and scratches on Wednesday and Thursday.
“A ship at sea should not have sliding planes, whatever the maritime state … or maneuvers,” said the manager.
The manager highlighted the processes and procedures of the navy which take into account turns, weather conditions and other challenges to ensure that planes remain safe. An investigation will reveal the cause and the contributory factors, said the manager.
Since March 15, Truman has been carrying out daily flight operations as part of Operation Rough Rider, an American effort to degrade the capacities of Houthi supported by Iran.
The Pentagon claims that US forces have reached more than 1,000 targets, including several command and control facilities, air defense systems and weapon storage and production facilities.
The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman sails in the area of responsibility for the American central command on April 8, 2025. The navy investigation on what caused a super Cornet tractor and a towing tractor in the sea earlier this week. (Kaitlin Young / Us Navy)
We don’t know why Truman would have been directed in a way that could send an airplane over board.
“The avoidance maneuvers against anti-ship missiles (ASM) are not a standard procedure and would generally not be relevant or effective given the big difference in speed between ASM and ships,” said Jan Van Tol, retired navy captain and main scholarship holder at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.
An aircraft carrier would count on escort ships, his own fighters against certain threats and / or his own passive defensive measures to provide his best defense, said Van Tol in an email.
One of Truman’s escort ships, such as Cruiser Uss Gettysburg, is likely to act like the carrier’s shotgun defense platform, ready at any time to shoot weapons during a threat of incoming missiles, said Steven Wills, analyst at the Navy League maritime strategy center.
“One might think that we would have heard something on the weapons licensed in self -defense by one of the carrier’s escorts in addition to hearing that the carrier has maneuvered to avoid attacking,” said Wills.
A sudden and hard -speed turn could produce the type of list that could upset a trailer towing an airplane near an elevator where it could fall from the ship, wills and other analysts.
The use of such a maneuver to help a ship nearby or a plane get a better blow in an incoming missile is plausible, said James Holmes, president of the Maritime Strategy Program at the Naval War College in Newport, RIG
But there are other explanations, such as “a bizarre accident may be linked to constant operations and the fatigue of the crew,” said Holmes.
The loss of the Super Hornet is the third major incident involving Truman in about four months.
On December 22, an F / A-18F launched from the carrier’s bridge was shot down by the Cruiser Uss Gettysburg, the US central command said at the time. The two aviators aboard the plane were recovered safely.
In February, Truman was involved in a collision with a commercial ship near the entrance to the Suez Canal, requiring a stay of almost a week on the Greek island of Crete for repairs.
An analyst noted that Truman and his escort did not transmit their location at the time of the end of the evening collision, as required when a navy ship is in congested waters. Truman commander was dismissed a little over a week after the February 12 collision.
These incidents remain under investigation.
The navy would not say if it intends to recover the implicated jet in the most recent incidence or if the plane was equipped with upgrades, such as a useful research and infrared track system to identify stealth aircraft.
But maintaining the rescue units in place for an extended period in an area vulnerable to attacks is probably not a good idea, said Van Tol, adding that super hornets are older planes and not as much a concern in potential foreign operations as the more recent F-35 Lightning II.
