F-35B Fighter Leaves Kerala Airport After Being Stranded For 5 Weeks
The British Royal Navy's F-35B fighter jet, which had been stranded in Kerala for over a month after making an emergency landing, flew out of the Thiruvananthapuram airport this morning. The stealth jet had been grounded in Kerala due to a hydraulic fault that took an expert team from the UK to repair.
The fighter received a green signal yesterday, allowing it to return to the skies after five weeks. Visuals this morning showed the aircraft taking off from the Thiruvananthapuram airport.
"A UK F-35B aircraft, which landed following an emergency diversion on June 14, departed today from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. A UK engineering team, deployed since July 6, completed the repairs and safety checks, allowing the aircraft to resume active service," said a British High Commission spokesperson, expressing gratitude to Indian authorities and airport teams.
The fifth-generation stealth fighter is part of the UK's HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, which has been operating in the Indo-Pacific and recently finished joint maritime exercises with the Indian Navy.
The jet was flying from the UK to Australia on June 14 when it developed a snag and was forced to take a detour to Kerala. Facing low fuel levels and adverse weather, the pilot had opted for an emergency landing at the nearest airport. Indian Air Force came to the rescue of the troubled jet; they facilitated its landing in Thiruvananthapuram and provided logistical support.
Over the next few weeks, UK officials made several efforts to take the fighter jet back to its home country. At one point, British technicians even considered transporting the jet in a C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft.
On July 6, the F-35B was towed to a hangar for repair. Special equipment also had to be flown in to move it to the hangar since India doesn't operate any F-35s. A massive team of 24 technical experts and crew members from the Royal Air Force arrived with equipment to repair the fighter jet.
The jet incurred a hefty bill during its stay in India, including landing and daily parking charges. The F-35B was charged a daily parking fee of over Rs 26,000, which summed up to over Rs 9 lakh for its 35-day stay in Kerala, according to the Economic Times.
The fighter jet's India stay also sparked massive curiosity among the locals and memes on social media. Kerala Tourism shared a photo of the aircraft with the caption, "Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave."
Designed by Lockheed Martin, the F-35B is among the world's most expensive fighter jet programmes in history. It has three variants - A, B, C. The B variant, used by the UK Royal Navy, is capable of short take-offs and vertical landings, which allows it to take off from aircraft carriers without catapult systems
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- Indian Express
TS LAWCET 2025: Counselling registration to begin today at lawcetadm.tgche.ac.in
TS LAWCET Counselling 2025: The Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) will open registration for TS LAWCET 2025 counselling today, August 4, for admissions into both three-year and five-year LLB programmes. Eligible candidates can submit their applications through the official portal at According to the TS LAWCET 2025 counselling schedule, candidates can register for law admissions until August 14. The physical verification of certificates for special categories will be carried out between August 8 and 14. The counselling process involves several stages, including registration, certificate verification, choice-filling, and final seat allotment. Seat assignments will be determined based on candidates' performance in the TS LAWCET 2025 examination. The registration fee is Rs 800 for general students, while Rs 500 for SC and ST category students. Payments can be made via debit card, credit card, or internet banking. To apply for admission to the three-year or five-year LLB programmes through TS LAWCET 2025, candidates must meet the following eligibility criteria: –Must be an Indian national. –Should fulfil either local or non-local residency status as defined by the relevant authorities. –A bachelor's degree from a recognised university or an equivalent qualification approved by the concerned universities. –Minimum qualifying marks for the general category are 45 per cent, for the OBC category, it is 42 per cent and for the SC/ST category, the qualifying per cent is 40. –Candidates with lower percentages in graduation may still be eligible if they have scored the required minimum aggregate in post-graduation or a BEd programme. –Individuals who earned a degree through a single sitting or an open university without a basic qualification (such as passing SSC) are not eligible. –Completion of a two-year intermediate education following the 10+2 pattern, or equivalent qualification recognised by the university or the Boards of Intermediate Education of Telangana or Andhra Pradesh. –Minimum qualifying marks for the general category are 45 per cent, for the OBC category, it is 42 per cent and for the SC/ST category, the qualifying per cent is 40. –Applicants who obtained Class 12 or graduation/post-graduation via open universities without having a basic qualification (SSC) are not eligible. The Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) on June 25 announced the results for TS LAWCET and TS PGLCET 2025. The entrance tests were conducted on June 6, 2025, in three shifts – morning, afternoon, and evening, as per the course.
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Tamil Nadu farmers urge to revise subsidy scheme to include removing mud from well
COIMBATORE: Farmers have urged the agri-engineering department to revise the norms of a subsidy scheme aimed at renovating abandoned agricultural wells. They claimed that the current subsidy only covers the construction of retaining walls around the wells, not the work of removing soil and mud. The farmers stated that the state government has launched a pilot project to provide a subsidy for renovating abandoned wells on agricultural land. The scheme, implemented through the agri-engineering department, selects one or two wells in a district and offers a maximum subsidy of Rs 2.5 lakh per farmer for the renovation. K Balakrishnan, secretary of the youth wing in Kaushika Neer Karangal, said, "Due to the depletion of groundwater, most wells on agricultural land were left without water. As a result, farmers abandoned them without maintenance. The government has since implemented a groundwater recharge project, and the water level in some parts of the district is now increasing. The government is currently providing a subsidy under a pilot project to renovate abandoned wells in some districts."
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Reading room and recliners: Marina set for ‘Blue Flag'
CHENNAI: Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday inaugurated eco-friendly developmental features, worth Rs 7.31 crore, at the Marina beach as part of its 'Blue Flag' project. Under the project, 20 sunshades, 40 recliner benches and 12 benches all made of bamboo, four watchtowers, 24 garbage bins, an entry arch, a meditation centre, a reading room and two selfie spots have been set up on a 20-acre area of Marina Beach. 12 wheelchairs for the persons with disabilities, four areas with children's play equipment, exercise equipment and adaptive play equipment for the PwDs, a breastfeeding room, CCTV cameras and first aid room, a waiting room, separate bathrooms and toilet facilities for men and women and drinking water facilities through an automatic machine have been set up. Beach clean up will be carried out by mechanical cleaning machines and a dedicated team of workers. Blue Flag certification is an international initiative to safeguard the environment and marine ecology. Kovalam beach in Chengalpattu was the first in Tamil Nadu to get the Blue Flag beach certification. Following this, CM MK Stalin ordered eco-friendly development to preserve the marine ecology in the beaches of Chennai, Cuddalore, Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi, making them Blue Flag certified which would attract more foreign tourists.
