Insider Brief for The View from the Front podcast, edition 4-29-25

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I thought for this edition of the Insider Brief, we’d dig in a bit on the situation in Yemen.

The operations against the Houthis continue to rise in cost for the United States.

First, news broke yesterday that the Navy lost a $60 to $70 million aircraft.

Here’s how it happened, according to Military.com.

The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet and a tow tractor when both fell overboard on Monday, the Navy said in a statement.

This incident marks the second Super Hornet that the Truman has lost while deployed to the Red Sea, and it is the third major mishap that has occurred aboard the aircraft carrier in the last several months.

"The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft," the statement said, adding the "sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard."

A U.S. official confirmed to Military.com that initial reports indicated the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire, which contributed to the fighter jet falling overboard.

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The Institute for the Study of War claimed that the Houthis “used a complex strike package combining ballistic and cruise missiles and drones to force the USS Harry S. Truman to take evasive action.”