Yemen: The United States has confirmed that Yemeni missiles and drones caused the downing of an F-18 fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

CNN reported, quoting an American official on Monday evening, that the operation carried out by the Yemeni Armed Forces against the Truman and its accompanying warships led to the downing of the fighter jet.

The network cited the US official as saying,"The F-18 fighter fell after the Truman made a sharp turn to evade fire from the Houthis."

This statement confirms what Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e announced earlier in his statement about forcing the Truman carrier to flee northward from its position in the Red Sea. It also highlights the failure of American defense systems to intercept Yemeni missiles and drones or protect the carrier, which ultimately had no option but to flee.

Assuming the American claim is accurate, it contradicts a statement made by the US Navy in February regarding damage to the carrier. At that time, the Navy claimed the Truman had collided with a commercial ship in the Mediterranean Sea. This new acknowledgment raises serious questions: how could the Truman allegedly fail to perform a quick emergency maneuver to avoid a slow-moving commercial ship, yet manage a sharp evasive turn to dodge a high-speed missile or drone?

American officials continued making statements regarding the latest downing, but only further exposed the confusion and contradictions they are experiencing in the wake of this setback. A second US official told USNI News that:

"The F-18 fell while the USS Truman was performing an evasive maneuver," attempting to downplay what was admitted to CNN.

These glaring contradictions in US statements reveal the growing effectiveness of Yemeni military operations, which have managed to reach and directly engage Washington’s aircraft carrier despite the heavy escort of warships meant to protect it.

Earlier on Monday, Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e announced a direct engagement with the USS Truman and its strike group in response to American aggression and its crimes.

This Yemeni operation also falls within the broader combat strategy adopted by the Yemeni Armed Forces to neutralize American attacks by targeting their sources—forcing enemy aircraft and ships to retreat. In this instance, the operation not only defended Yemeni territory but also achieved offensive goals by forcing the Truman carrier itself to withdraw.

This marks the second time the Yemeni Armed Forces have succeeded in downing an American F-18 fighter jet. In December, a similar offensive operation targeting Truman led to the carrier’s retreat and forced US aircraft back to their bases after they had been preparing for a wide-scale assault on Yemen.

This operation further underscores the growing defensive and offensive capabilities of the Yemeni forces, while stripping the United States of the key advantages it once relied upon. Notably, the systematic downing of MQ-9 Reaper drones has severely weakened Washington’s ability to conduct reconnaissance and targeted strikes, a fact acknowledged by US officials to CNN earlier this week.

They admitted that operations heavily depended on these drones, and that their inability to maintain surveillance and targeting due to the rapid downing of MQ-9s has stalled American plans to escalate to the next phase of aggression—thus pushing them to rely increasingly on indiscriminate strikes against civilian targets.

All evidence points to the steady erosion of America's key military advantages: MQ-9 drones are falling at record rates; aircraft carriers like the Truman are retreating with their loads intact or lost; and US defensive systems can no longer effectively protect either their own naval fleets or Israeli interests deep inside occupied Palestine from Yemeni missile and drone attacks.

Meanwhile, statements from Yemen's President Mahdi al-Mashat, regarding the US B-2 stealth bomber and an imminent surprise related to it, suggest that the US may soon lose even more of the strategic tools it has long relied upon to dominate the region and maintain its global standing.

Translated by Almasirah English website