UK sends team to finally repair stranded jet after mystery snag prompts India mockery

The F-35B has been moved to a hangar and repair work is now underway (Image: @UKDefenceIndia)

A team of British aircraft engineers have arrived in India to repair a £88 million UK fighter jet that has been stranded in the country for more than three weeks. The F-35B Lightning II made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport, in Kerala, on June 14 due to bad weather over the Indian Ocean.

The fifth-generation stealth fighter then reported a technical issue and was unable to return to the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in the region. A team from the 65,000-tonne vessel were reportedly unable to fix the jet which was mocked by an Indian tourist board. The British High Commission has now confirmed that a 14-strong team of engineers have arrived in southern India to carry out the repairs.

It added the team have brought “specialist equipment necessary for the movement and repair process".

The commission’s defence adviser Commodore Chris Saunders shared photos on X of the engineers arriving at the airport in a Royal Air Force A400m transport plane.

“Repairs are underway on the aircraft, which has now been moved to the maintenance hangar,” he said. 

The F-35B is the UK's most expensive warplane and can operate from aircraft carriers (Image: Getty)

“We are grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities.”

Images showed the jet inside the hangar, something a spokesman for the commission said would happen once engineering teams with specialist kit had arrived.

According to reports, the Navy had earlier rejected an offer from Air India to provide hangar space for the aircraft due to fears people could get a look at its advanced technology.

Ministers confirmed the F-35B was being guarded around the clock by members of the RAF.

The status of the jet has caused something of a stir on social media. 

The Kerala tourism board even used it as an opportunity to promote the region, while also mocking the stranded aircraft.

It posted a cartoon image of the warplane on a runway, with coconut palm trees in the background, and a ‘review’ written by the F-35B that said: “Kerala is such an amazing place, I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend.”

The F-35B was embarked on HMS Prince of Wales for her deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

The ship and her carrier strike group had been taking part in exercises with the Indian Navy in June.

The F-35B is Britain’s most advanced aircraft and is capable of operating from land and at sea on the Navy’s aircraft carriers thanks to its short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities.