A Royal Navy F-35B remains stranded at an Indian airport after a hydraulic failure, raising concerns over security, repairs, and sensitive technology exposure during a major UK carrier deployment.
This past winter, a Russian Su-57 jet fighter was forced to make a “pit stop” in Iran while returning from the Aero India 2025 air show. Now, another fifth-generation jet has spent more than a week in India after it was forced to make an emergency landing.
One of the Royal Navy’s Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning (the UK’s designation for the stealth fighter) has been left “stranded” at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in southwest India. The multirole short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) fighter was embarked on the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, and landed at the airport in Kerala, India, after participating in joint exercises with the Indian Navy.
The UK’s Carrier Strike Group 25 is now engaged in Operation Highmast, a global deployment to the Indo-Pacific, marking only the second such deployment this century, following the 2021 voyage that saw HMS Queen Elizabeth head to the Pacific and back.
The F-35B Lightning Landed in India’s Second-Busiest Airport
It was initially reported that the jet had run low on fuel when permission was requested for the aircraft to land at the civilian airport. The plane landed safely without further incident. However, there is more to the story now.
The UK’s Telegraph newspaper suggested that weather, not fuel, may have been a problem, and that the advanced stealth fighter was “unable to return to the carrier” due to the weather conditions.
According to flight-tracking data, the aircraft landed approximately half an hour after takeoff. The choice of facilities was noteworthy, given that Kerala is now India’s second-busiest airport, but the pilot may not have had other options.
Indian media have since reported the F-35B suffered a hydraulic failure, which explains why the aircraft wasn’t fueled and sent on its way. Instead, a maintenance team was dispatched from the Royal Navy warship, but could not resolve the issue.
The Telegraph added, “A larger team from the UK is expected to travel to Kerala.” However, it is also unclear when that could take place. The bigger issue for the Royal Navy, not to mention the United States military, is that the fighter remains exposed in the open.
British personnel are overseeing its recovery, but the advanced fighter isn’t in what can be remotely described as a safe and secure location. Local authorities are reportedly seeing to its protection.
The aircraft is parked in a remote part of the airport, with round-the-clock protection. Out of caution, the Royal Navy rejected Air India’s offer to move the fighter to a hangar. It was determined that an open area would be better than a hangar that more individuals could access.
Current plans call for the Lightning to be transported aboard a military cargo aircraft if it can’t be repaired.
This Is the Second F-35B Accident for the Royal Navy
If the efforts to repair failed, this would also mark the second time a Royal Navy carrier strike group returned to the UK with one fewer F-35 than with which it departed. During the 2021 deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth, another F-35 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.
Great effort was taken to recover the fighter.
At least this time, the fighter isn’t lost, but the bigger worry in the short term may be that its secrets are revealed. No one planned on having the most advanced fighter in the world just parked at an airport in India!
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Pawel Bednarski 303.
