US Navy pilot becomes first American woman to ‘fight and kill in air combat’

A U.S. Navy pilot recently became the first American woman ever to achieve an air-to-air combat victory, according to service data. He saidThe fighter pilot, whose identity has not been released, received the honor after shooting down a Houthi drone, one of dozens of attack aircraft launched by the coalition. Yemen-based rebel group The US Navy said the Houthis launched attacks on civilian merchant ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. The Houthis say the attacks are a direct response to the devastation in Gaza since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The Navy said the pilot was flying an F/A-18 Super Hornet, a military strike aircraft, during a nine-month combat mission aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. She was part of a group of men and women from Strike Fighter Squadron 32, nicknamed the “Flying Sabres.” The Eisenhower was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to integrate female pilots into its crew in 1994, according to National Air and Space Museum.

“During one mission, VFA-32 became home to the first American pilot to engage in air-to-air combat and kill,” according to the Navy. He said.

It was not clear exactly when the pilot shot down the drone, but the Navy said its squadron had fired more than 20 air-to-air missiles during its deployment against Houthi drones targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

The U.S. Navy said Strike Fighter Squadron 32 completed its mission earlier this month and returned to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach on July 14, calling their service “historic.”

“The success of the entire squadron over the past nine months is a testament to all the members of the command and their friends and family back home who support them,” said Commander Jason Hoch, Strike Fighter Squadron 32 commander, in a statement. “I could not be prouder of the Sabres’ performance day in and day out in incredibly challenging conditions. We have proven time and time again that the resilience of the Carrier Strike Group in combat is unmatched, and that is only due to the highly trained and motivated Sailors who go above and beyond the call of duty every day.”

The squadron flew more than 3,000 combat hours and completed more than 1,500 combat missions during its deployment, which the Navy said was unprecedented. Their deployment served Operations Inherent Resolve and Sentinel Prosperity, the names of the U.S. military campaigns against the Islamic State and Iraq. Houthi attacks on ships In the Red Sea, respectively. In addition to confronting attack drones in and around the Red Sea, they also conducted two strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, according to the Navy.

Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, all vital international shipping lanes, increased in November and have continued since. Like Hamas, the Yemeni rebel group is backed by Iran. At least two drone attacks by the group in the area are believed to have killed sailors, the latest on November 20. Houthi strike On board a cargo ship in the Red Sea that sank in June. One person is believed to have died in the attack, the Associated Press reported at the time. U.S. officials have previously said that Another Houthi attack On board a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, at least three people were killed and four others injured in March.

—Haley Ott contributed reporting.