Stranded no more: After month-long wait in Kerala, UK’s stealth F-35B fighter to take off today

The stealth fighter, part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, was reportedly forced to make an unscheduled landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14 following bad weather over the Indian Ocean.

After more than five weeks on the ground in Kerala, the British Royal Navy’s F-35B fighter jet is finally ready to fly again.

Grounded since mid-June due to a technical fault, the world’s most expensive combat aircraft, worth around $110 million, has now been cleared for takeoff, with its departure from India expected on Tuesday.

The stealth fighter, part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, was reportedly forced to make an unscheduled landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14 following bad weather over the Indian Ocean.

However, once on the ground, it developed a hydraulic snag that left it stranded far longer than anticipated.

Initial repair attempts by Royal Navy engineers proved unsuccessful, following which the UK Ministry of Defence dispatched a second, larger team of 14 aviation specialists from the UK, U.S., and Lockheed Martin. They arrived in India on July 14, armed with specialised equipment to assess and fix the malfunction.

After weeks of repair work inside a hangar at the airport, and intense media curiosity surrounding its prolonged stay, officials, on Monday, confirmed that the aircraft is now airworthy.

“The aircraft is confirmed to be airworthy and is scheduled to be pulled out of the hangar today,” an airport spokesperson has been cited in a report by the BBC.

The exact time of departure, refuelling logistics, and the exit strategy for the repair crew and equipment, however, remain undisclosed.

There had been earlier speculation that if repairs failed, the aircraft would have to be dismantled and flown out in a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. Nevertheless, with the repairs now deemed successful, the F-35B is now set to depart.

Throughout its stay, the jet drew widespread attention, even becoming the subject of online memes and jokes, some playfully suggesting it had no desire to leave the picturesque state of Kerala, often dubbed “God’s Own Country.”

Built by US defence giant Lockheed Martin, the F-35B is renowned for its stealth, short take-off, and vertical landing capabilities.

Despite its sophistication, its extended grounding in a foreign country sparked questions globally, including in the UK Parliament, about its reliability and the sensitivity of keeping such high-tech equipment abroad.

The Royal Navy has declined to share further technical details, and the UK High Commission in India has also remained tight-lipped about the specifics of the repair operation.