Key Points and Summary – In an embarrassing episode for the British military, a Royal Navy F-35 stealth fighter has been stranded in Kerala, India, for over 20 days after making an emergency landing on June 14.
-The jet, operating from the HMS Prince of Wales, diverted to Trivandrum airport due to bad weather and low fuel. On the ground, a critical hydraulic issue was discovered, grounding the aircraft indefinitely.
-A 40-person specialist team is being flown in from the UK to attempt repairs, but the jet may need to be disassembled and shipped home, a humiliating prospect for the advanced fifth-generation fighter.
F-35 Stuck in India?
In what could be seen as an embarrassment for the British military, an F-35 from the United Kingdom has been stranded in India after making an emergency landing at Kerala’s Trivandrum airport 20 days ago when it almost ran out of fuel. The Lightning II stealth jet may have to be disassembled and shipped back to Britain on a larger airplane.
The British military is deploying a 40-person unit to Kerala in an attempt to repair the fifth-generation fighter, but it remains to be seen whether this effort will be successful.
The team of engineers will descend on India on July 5, and they have their work cut out for them. These workers may have to remove some components from the airplane if they can’t get it back into the air. England has supplied a cargo plane to ship the parts back, and the British will decide what else can be disassembled for the trip.
What Happened?
The F-35 was part of the HMS Prince of Wales carrier strike group. It was flying 100 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala on June 14, IndiaToday.com said. Then there was a near disaster. The pilot had serious issues on his hands. The weather was terrible, and he was running “bingo” on fuel. The Royal Navy informed the pilot to divert to Thiruvananthapuram. The Indian Air Force sprang into action and guided the F-35 to a safe landing.
The Story Gets Worse
That worked out fine, but the F-35 then encountered additional problems on the ground. The pilot began pre-flight checks before heading back to the carrier. A red light went off.
This indicator revealed that the F-35 had a hydraulic issue in a critical system essential for takeoff and landing. There was no way he could get it back to the carrier safely.
It Must Be a Tricky Problem
The British Royal Navy sent a small maintenance crew to fix the faulty parts. They were unsuccessful. It seemed the problem was more serious than initially thought. So, it had to remain parked until a more robust team of technicians could be sent from the United Kingdom.
The Indian military kept it under lock and key to prevent prying eyes from inspecting the ultra-expensive warbird. The airplane was later moved into a more secure hangar.
The Joke’s on the British
Then hilarity ensued. The Indians decided to poke some fun at the British to pass the time. It seems tourism officials thought an image of the stranded F-35 would amuse viewers on social media.
Someone took an artificial intelligence rendering of the Lightning II and merged it with another shot of a runway. Then the jokers placed a five-star review underneath the airplane with a caption that said, “Kerala is such an amazing place, I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend.”
The Royal Navy was not amused. However, the Indians and other netizens around the world got a chuckle, especially those in the developing world (and people from former British colonies) who could never afford an F-35 but always appreciate it when the United Kingdom is in a pickle.
Nothing to See Here
The Indian Air Force then made an official announcement, confirming the whole ordeal with no frivolity. “The jet was undertaking routine flying outside of the Indian Air Defence Identification Zone when it encountered difficulties and Thiruvananthapuram was earmarked as the emergency recovery field.”
The Indians are “providing all necessary support for the rectification and subsequent return of the aircraft.”
A British military spokesperson in India also claimed the Royal Navy and Air Force were doing everything in their power to get the airplane back to the UK. The British thanked the Indians for their efforts.
The team coming to rescue the F-35 may be able to get it airborne again. However, being forced to take it apart for a cargo flight back to the British Isles is humiliating for such an advanced airplane and its maintainers.
This comes as India is considering the purchase of a number of F-35s from the United States. This episode will not endear the fighter jet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian leader is playing hard to get with President Donald Trump, as he considers the US offer. Modi may opt to buy Russian Su-57 Felon fighters or even the Russian Su-75 Checkmate instead. No doubt, Vladimir Putin smiled when he heard the F-35 broke down in India as his country pushed its own stealth fighters on Modi.
Hopefully for the British, their crack team of engineers can get the F-35 working again. The whole saga should be alleviated soon, but not before India, Russia, and the Global South saw the humor and irony of the situation.
The stranded F-35 will get some tender loving care, and the British can then signal on their own social media channels that all is well.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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