The Navy said in a statement Thursday that investigations into a series of accidents involving the Truman Carrier Strike Group “examined how a Carrier Strike Group prepares for and responds to adversities during combat operations.”
From March 15 until May 6, the Truman took part in “Operation Rough Rider”, targeting the Houthis who attacked merchant ships and US Navy ships.
During this period, aircraft flew for 52 days, including 72 hours of continuous flight operations. The flight crew conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes against the Houthis using more than a million pounds of ammunition.
During its entire deployment from September 2024 through May 2025, the aircraft carrier strike group had a friendly fire incident in December. Navy destroyer launched missiles on 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,” Naval Operations Adm. Jim Kilby said in a statement. “These studies reinforce the need to continue investing in our people to ensure we deliver combat-ready forces to operational commanders.”
Kilby told reporters that “appropriate accountability actions were taken,” but the investigation redacted paragraphs on what those actions were and whether they were taken during or after the deployment.
The study found that a multitude of factors were behind each incident, but generally the recommendations in the studies included improving military compliance with Navy processes, especially in a combat environment.
“All of these accidents were avoidable, whether battle-related or not,” said a Navy official who spoke to reporters ahead of the investigations’ release.
No soldiers were killed in the four incidents, but there were close calls. In the friendly fire incident, crew members of one of the wrongly targeted F-18 fighter jets saw the USS Gettysburg missile 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 about 10 feet away from the impact area. The investigation shows that if the collision had occurred about 100 feet forward, it would have struck part of the aircraft carrier where 120 sailors were sleeping.
All the incidents combined cost the Navy about $164 million, according to figures released in the study, combined with the estimated cost of an F-18 aircraft.
When the USS Gettysburg destroyer fired two missiles at planes flying back to the Truman, one crew ejected, leaving the estimated $67 million F-18 aircraft stranded. After the February collision, temporary repairs to the impacts carried a price tag of approximately $685,000, with a full repair expected after deployment.
The investigation into the two F-18 losses in April and May found that the estimated costs were $36,141,169 and $60,259,238 respectively, including the cost of other damaged equipment.
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