US pilots react with outrage to leak of attack plans in Signal chat.

247 - The revelation that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared classified details of an air operation in a Signal group has sparked outrage among Air Force and Navy pilots, according to The New York Times.

Airmen accuse the Pentagon's top command of putting lives at risk and violating fundamental principles of military security. The leak, they say, has compromised trust in leadership and exposed professionals who risk their lives on combat missions. "This could end up killing someone," lamented one pilot after the case was made public.

The information came to light through a news report by The Atlantic, which revealed that Hegseth disclosed, in the unprotected chat, the flight schedule of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets on a mission against Houthi militia targets in Yemen, scheduled for March 15. 

The conversation involved high-ranking members of the Trump administration and, by mistake, even included the editor-in-chief of the magazine itself. The seriousness of the leak is compounded by the fact that Hegseth refuses to admit any wrongdoing, maintaining that he made no mistake.

The reaction was immediate at air bases, aircraft carriers, and military communities. Active and veteran pilots classified the action as a blatant breach of operational safety protocols. For them, more serious than the leak itself was the secretary's lack of humility in acknowledging the mistake. 

“The central point of aviation safety is having the humility to understand that you are imperfect, because everyone makes mistakes,” stated Lieutenant John Gadzinski, a former Navy F-14 pilot. “But ultimately, if you can’t admit when you’re wrong, you’re going to end up killing someone because your ego is too big.”

At least a dozen pilots interviewed for this report expressed frustration and disbelief. With each new detail revealed since the publication of the article, the feeling of abandonment by the military leadership grows. 

For many, the incident undermines decades of doctrine building on security and confidentiality in operations. "The worst part," reported one Air Force pilot, "is that we can no longer trust that they are concerned about our safety up there."

In addition to violating basic rules of secrecy, the episode may have jeopardized the entire operation, since the anticipation of strategic movements by enemy groups—such as the Houthis—could result in ambushes, loss of life, and diplomatic damage. The use of a commercial application to discuss such sensitive matters also raised criticism of the informal and reckless stance of the military leadership.