News

Royal Saudi Air Force: F-15 Down in Gulf of Aden, Crew Safe

Two airmen from the Royal Saudi Air Force were plucked from the Gulf of Aden after their Boeing F-15SA went down in international waters. It appears that the crew was participating in ongoing airstrikes being carried out by a number of Arab states in against Houthi rebel positions in Yemen. At this point, Saudi officials are not releasing how the Eagle went down, but they are fairly confident it was not enemy fire. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash.

The call for assistance came in on Thursday afternoon and was handled on a tactical level. The rescue planners contacted the destroyer, USS Sterett, to begin searching for the airmen. Upon locating the airmen a U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk, currently deployed to Djibouti, was dispatched to retrieve them.

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

Two airmen from the Royal Saudi Air Force were plucked from the Gulf of Aden after their Boeing F-15SA went down in international waters. It appears that the crew was participating in ongoing airstrikes being carried out by a number of Arab states in against Houthi rebel positions in Yemen. At this point, Saudi officials are not releasing how the Eagle went down, but they are fairly confident it was not enemy fire. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash.

The call for assistance came in on Thursday afternoon and was handled on a tactical level. The rescue planners contacted the destroyer, USS Sterett, to begin searching for the airmen. Upon locating the airmen a U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk, currently deployed to Djibouti, was dispatched to retrieve them.

The amphibious transport dock, USS New York, was also involved in the operation. The call from Saudi officials to Washington came in Thursday afternoon, and by 5:20 EST, the crew were safely in allied hands.

We are thankful this rescue op ended well and will provide more info as it becomes available.

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In