The F-35 fighter jet of British Navy that made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram last Saturday remains stranded after a week. Initially it was reported that the jet was forced to make emergency landing due to low fuel, but later it has been revealed that the aircraft has suffered serious hydraulic damage, with possible engine issues.
Several teams of technicians have tried to repair the aircraft on site, but have not been successful. Now, it has been reported that a 30-member team will arrive in India to inspect the F-35 jet. As per reports, the team will have British and American technicians. This will include experts from Lockheed Martin Corporation, the American company that makes the F-35 jet.
A new 5-member team from UK arrived in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday to find out the technical faults of the aircraft. The earlier team, which included a replacement pilot, returned to UK after it was determined that the jet can’t fly on its own without major repair.
The new team will conduct detailed inspection of the jet, and based on their report, the bigger 30-member team will come. However, the team will most likely work on taking the jet back to Britain, not repair it in India.
The jet will be airlifted in a military transport aircraft, and for that, the wings of the F-35 will have to be removed. Any other extra items attached to the jet, like missiles, will also have to be removed. The bigger team will probably work on preparing the jet to load onto a transport plane, most probably the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III.
It is clear that the UK Navy does not want to dissemble the jet in India for repair, as it may reveal some of its top-secret technologies. So far, they have not let the jet out of their sight even for a moment. After the emergency landing, the pilot refused to go to the terminal, and sat near the jet until a team arrived on a helicopter few hours later.
Since then, the jet is parked in the open on Bay Number 4 of the airport, exposed to elements in monsoon rains. Indian authorities offered to move the jet to a hanger, but UK refused that. The British Navy does not want the F-35 to be moved to a facility of another country.
Indian side had also offered to build a temporary shed over the jet to protect it from elements, but this proposal was also rejected. These rejections make it clear that the British side wants to keep the jet under their constant watch, and don’t want it to be covered, which may result in someone gaining access to it. The British team has been provided accommodation at the emergency medical centre of the airport, from where the jet is visible.
The F-35 is currently being CISF personnel, and a ground handling agency has been assigned to look after the jet as per British Navy’s request.
The jet, part of HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier group of the Royal Navy, declared emergency on last Saturday night, and requested permission to land at Thiruvananthapuram airport, which was earmarked as the emergency recovery airfield. Notably, the British carrier group is currently deployed in the Arabian Sea, and recently took part in a joint drill with the Indian Navy.
