UK Scrambles to Recover F-35 Stealth Jet Stuck in India

A British F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet has been stranded in southern India for nearly a month after an emergency landing—triggering logistical headaches, security concerns, and questions in the UK Parliament.

The incident began on June 14, when the F-35B was returning to the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier following a joint drill with the Indian Navy over the Arabian Sea. Bad weather near the carrier forced the pilot to divert and make an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in Kerala as the jet ran low on fuel.

While the landing was executed safely, technical issues with the aircraft’s engine and possibly its hydraulic system have since grounded it. Repeated repair efforts by engineers flown in from the HMS Prince of Wales have failed, leaving the $110 million stealth jet parked under heavy guard on Indian soil.

British authorities confirmed that the aircraft has been moved to a secure maintenance hangar at the airport, pending the arrival of specialized repair equipment from the UK. In the meantime, six Royal Air Force officers are guarding the jet around the clock to protect its highly classified technologies, while Indian officials are handling outer perimeter security and logistics.

“This aircraft houses cutting-edge technology that cannot fall into the wrong hands,” said Christoph Bergs, a defense analyst with the Royal United Services Institute. “You don’t want anyone getting close enough to tamper with or photograph it.”

The impasse has triggered political attention in London. Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty recently demanded answers in Parliament about the protection measures being taken and the timeline for recovery.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard insisted the aircraft remains “under tight control” and guarded by “our best people,” but offered no clear estimate on when it might fly again.

Experts say the UK faces two realistic options: fix the jet in place or disassemble it and fly it home aboard a large military cargo plane like the C-17 Globemaster III.

But even the second option is far from simple. While the C-17 can carry up to 77 tons, the F-35B’s wingspan of 11 meters exceeds the 4-meter width of the C-17’s cargo bay. The jet would have to be partially disassembled—particularly the wings—to fit. That task, due to the fighter's classified stealth features, can only be performed by Lockheed Martin-authorized technicians using secure protocols.

“It’s an incredibly complex operation,” said Indian defense analyst Sandeep Unnithan. “But at this point, there may be no better alternative.”

This wouldn’t be the first time an F-35 has had to be transported in pieces. In 2019, the U.S. Air Force successfully moved a disassembled F-35 from Eglin AFB in Florida to Hill AFB in Utah. South Korea did something similar in 2022 after one of its F-35As was damaged in a belly landing.

Still, each passing day that the British jet remains grounded on foreign soil chips away at the Royal Navy’s image. “The longer it stays stranded, the more misinformation and speculation spread—damaging both the perception of the F-35B and UK military readiness,” said Dr. Sameer Patil of the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai.

He warned that if such an incident had occurred in a less friendly country, the implications could have been much worse. “This exposes serious gaps in contingency planning and undermines the image of a professional naval force,” Patil added.

Sources: BBC, India Today, Hindustan Times, NDTV

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