At Thiruvananthapuram airport, the grounded F-35B is still parked under strict security, garnering a lot of media and public attention. The event occurs against the backdrop of growing Indo-Pacific maritime and defense cooperation between the UK and India.
Thiruvananthapuram: Defense officials announced on Friday, June 20, that the British Royal Navy’s F-35B Lightning II fighter plane, which made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14 (Saturday), had now experienced a hydraulic system failure. The sophisticated stealth plane has been grounded indefinitely due to the problem, and it could be necessary to use a military transport plane to airlift the jet back to its home base, they claimed.
Despite immediate emergency support, the aircraft was grounded. Low fuel levels forced the F-35B, which was flying out of the UK’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, to divert to its emergency recovery field at Thiruvananthapuram while it was performing routine operations outside of India’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The Indian Air Force (IAF) immediately provided refueling support and technical help upon arrival. However, a severe hydraulic problem prevented the fighter jet from taking off during the preparations for its return trip. A larger team is anticipated after the first maintenance attempt failed. A Royal Navy technical team was sent to identify and fix the problem, but their efforts were fruitless. A larger and more specialized maintenance team is now being mobilized to determine whether on-site repair is feasible, according to officials.
“The aircraft may need to be airlifted back using a military transport aircraft if the problem cannot be fixed locally,” a defense official said. IACCS network monitoring and assistance are confirmed by the Indian Air Force. In a post on X (previously Twitter), the IAF verified the emergency diversion and stated that India’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) had detected and monitored the aircraft. After that, safe recovery clearance was given to the F-35B.
The military said, “IAF is providing all necessary support for the aircraft’s rectification and subsequent return.”
The incident’s strategic significance At Thiruvananthapuram airport, the grounded F-35B is still parked under strict security, garnering a lot of media and public attention. The HMS Prince of Wales is now stationed in the Indo-Pacific as part of the UK’s strategic outreach, and the event occurs against the backdrop of growing defence and marine cooperation between the UK and India.