British fighter jet F-35B has been struck at Thrivananthapuram airport in Kerala (Southern India) since it landed on 14^th June, after being diverted there after it ran into bad weather during a sortie in the Indian Ocean and was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s flagship carrier. The £80million jet landed safely but it has since developed a technical snag and is unable to return to the carrier. According to the British High Commission “the UK has accepted an offer to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility at the airport, once UK engineering teams arrive with specialist equipment, thereby ensuring there is minimal disruption to scheduled maintenance of other aircraft. The aircraft will return to active service once repairs and safety checks have been completed.”

One of the two options the Royal Navy have according to a security expert “ they can repair it and make it fly-worthy or they can fly it out in a bigger cargo plane such as a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft”.

F-35BS are highly advanced stealth jets, built by Lockheed Martin, and are known for their short take-off in confined spaces and vertical landing capability.