The British Royal Navy’s F-35B stealth fighter aircraft, which had been stranded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport since June 14, took off successfully this morning after major repairs. The cutting-edge combat aircraft of the UK’s HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group had been in Kerala for 39 days because of a recurring hydraulic malfunction.
#WATCH | Kerala: The British Navy’s F-35 fighter aircraft, which made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14, takes off from the airport. pic.twitter.com/RT9vlsL73W
— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2025
The fifth-generation fighter jet, worth more than $110 million, flew out of the airport after being given the “green signal” yesterday, marking the end of the complicated repairs. Footage captured the moment the F-35B took off into the air, ending its strange sojourn in India. Its final destination is Darwin, Australia, sources from the airport said.
The plane was flying from the UK to Australia on June 14 when it had to make an emergency landing in Thiruvananthapuram because of low fuel, bad weather, and the critical hydraulic failure. The Indian Air Force (IAF) went a long way in ensuring its safe landing and initial logistic assistance.
After some initial failed repair efforts by a team from its carrier group, a British expert team of 21 members, including aviation engineers, arrived on July 6. The plane, parked on the ground, was then towed into a hangar to undergo more extensive work, a process needing specialized equipment not readily available in India because of its non-operation of F-35s.
The prolonged grounding of the F-35B was an eventful local development, not even prompting a serious tweet, but instead playful social media posts from Kerala Tourism. The successful repair and departure mark the end of an exceptional chapter, with the aircraft now ready to resume its mission with the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, whose recent joint maritime exercise with the Indian Navy in the Indo-Pacific region concluded. The UK officials are also likely to pay a parking charge of approximately ₹9.19 lakh for the jet’s extended stay.