US Navy Pilot Achieves Historic Air-To-Air Victory In Combat

A US Navy fighter pilot has made history as the first American woman to score an air-to-air combat victory, the Navy announced. The unidentified female pilot was flying an F/A-18 Super Hornet off the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, part of Strike Fighter Squadron 32, known as the “Flying Swordsmen.”

The aerial victory occurred during a mission against a Houthi attack drone, part of the Yemen-based group’s broader campaign targeting civilian merchant ships in the Red Sea. This attack was a response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where Israel’s war against Hamas has led to increased regional instability.

The Swordsmen squadron, which logged over 3,000 combat hours and nearly 1,500 combat missions in operations Inherent Resolve and Prosperity Guardian, engaged in the strikes. The squadron fired more than 20 air-to-air missiles at Houthi drones, with one mission marking the historic first air-to-air kill by an American female pilot.

This milestone comes 30 years after Lt Kara Hultgreen became the Navy’s first carrier-based female fighter pilot in 1994. Female aviators have since been integrated into carrier strike groups, including those on the Eisenhower.

The Eisenhower-led Carrier Strike Group 2 completed a nine-month deployment on July 14, a notably lengthy mission for a carrier. Cmdr. Jason Hoch, commanding officer of VFA-32, commended the squadron’s performance under “incredibly demanding conditions.”

In addition to the air-to-air engagement, the Swordsmen led two of seven strikes against Houthi ground targets in Yemen, destroying munitions and command facilities. Carrier Strike Group 2’s warships and aircraft conducted extensive strikes, targeting over 460 Houthi sites in Yemen and firing numerous missiles.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed Shia rebel group controlling much of Yemen, have targeted Red Sea shipping and Israel in retaliation for the Gaza conflict. The UK and US have responded to these attacks with strikes on Houthi targets, and Israel recently launched its first strikes inside Yemen following a deadly Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv.