A British Royal Navy F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet, valued at over $110 million, is grounded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala, India, nine days after an emergency landing on June 14.
The advanced fifth-generation aircraft, part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, was forced to divert due to low fuel and adverse weather conditions during a routine flight outside India’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), as part of a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy.
The jet, initially grounded due to low fuel, was refueled with support from the Indian Air Force (IAF), which coordinated with local authorities to facilitate the landing. However, a subsequent inspection revealed a critical hydraulic system failure, preventing the aircraft from returning to its carrier, stationed approximately 100 nautical miles off the Kerala coast.
The F-35B, renowned for its short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities, relies on a sophisticated hydraulic system to operate its lift fan and control surfaces, making the snag a significant technical challenge.
Multiple repair attempts by Royal Navy technicians, airlifted from the HMS Prince of Wales, have been unsuccessful. A 30-member team of specialists, including engineers from Lockheed Martin, the jet’s American manufacturer, is expected to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram within days to assess the issue.
Sources indicate that if repairs cannot be completed on-site, the Royal Air Force may deploy a C-17 Globemaster III to airlift the 14.5-ton jet back to a UK repair facility, a complex operation requiring the removal of the aircraft’s wings and external armaments.
The jet, parked at Bay 4 of the airport’s General Aviation terminal under tight security by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), has drawn significant attention. Indian authorities offered to move the aircraft to a hangar at Air India’s maintenance facility to protect it from monsoon rains, but the Royal Navy declined, citing the sensitivity of the F-35B’s stealth technology.
The prolonged grounding has raised questions about the F-35 program’s reliability, given its high costs and complex maintenance needs.