Watch: British F-35 jet finally takes off from Kerala after 5 weeks

The $115-million stealth jet had diverted to Kerala after bad weather and a technical snag cut short its return to HMS Prince of Wales during a routine sortie

The British Royal Navy’s F-35 fighter jet, which made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14, successfully took off from the airport on Tuesday, ending a five-week technical halt.

  The fifth-generation stealth fighter — one of the world’s most advanced combat aircraft and valued at approximately $115 million — had been grounded due to a technical snag. It was on a routine sortie over the Arabian Sea when it encountered adverse weather and was unable to return to the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.

 

IAF confirms routine diversion protocol

 

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said the diversion was routine and coordinated. It confirmed that the UK fighter jet’s movement was fully informed and cleared for flight safety reasons. Upon the emergency diversion call, the F-35B was detected by the IAF’s integrated air command and control system network and cleared for landing.

 

Part of Operation Highmast naval exercises

 

The emergency landing occurred days after HMS Prince of Wales took part in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea on June  9–10. The aircraft carrier is leading the UK Carrier Strike Group’s eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific under Operation Highmast.

 

According to the IAF, the diversion and landing in Kerala were carried out under the pre-established “diversion contingency plans” between the British and Indian armed forces for the operation.

 

Jet repaired, housed in Air India hangar

 

Following the safe landing, British aviation engineers were flown in to carry out necessary repairs. During its extended stay, the F-35B was housed in an Air India hangar at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The UK reportedly paid landing fees, daily parking charges, and hangar rent during this period.