US Navy: First Air-to-Air Victory for Female Fighter Pilot

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Facts

  • The US Navy has revealed that a female aviator recently became the first American woman to score a victory in air-to-air combat when she knocked down a Houthi drone.1
  • Although the Navy didn't specify when the unnamed female pilot accomplished her historic feat, the service confirmed that during its deployment that started Oct. 13 and 14, her squadron fired more than 20 air-to-air missiles against one-way Houthi attack drones.2
  • The female pilot flew an F/A-18 Super Hornet off the USS Dwight D Eisenhower to protect civilian merchant ships in the Red Sea and adjacent waters.3
  • She was part of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 32 and follows in the footsteps of Lt. Kara Hultgreen, who became the first Navy female carrier-based fighter pilot in 1994, and Lt. Kimberly 'Face' Dyson, who became the first female fighter pilot in a combat mission in 1994.4
  • This news comes on the same weekend that Israel carried out airstrikes against Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen in retaliation for the group's drone strike on Tel Aviv days before.5

Sources: 1CBS, 2DVIDS, 3CNN, 4The Hill and 5BBC News.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Task & Purpose. This outstanding soldier and all members of this command should be commended for their great work under demanding conditions. Her squadron is highly trained and motivated and goes above and beyond their call of duty daily. When it comes to making sure the US and its allies are safe — especially against the Houthi threat — this squadron has performed admirably and this fighter pilot has achieved a milestone in US armed forces history.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The US can celebrate this historic milestone all it wants. But it can't distract from how much its policy in reference to the Houthis and protecting shipping lanes has failed. US policy has come at great cost and done nothing to slow Houthi attacks, as evidenced by the recent drone strike on Israel. The US must change course.

Predictions