F-35B jet to be moved to MRO facility at Kerala airport: UK
Nearly two weeks after an F-35B 'Lightning' stealth fighter jet of the Royal Navy made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and continued to remain grounded, the UK said it has accepted an offer to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility at the airport.
A British High Commission spokesperson said a UK F-35B aircraft is awaiting repairs at the airport after developing an engineering issue.
'The aircraft will be moved to the hangar once UK engineering teams arrive with specialist equipment, thereby ensuring there is minimal disruption to scheduled maintenance of other aircraft,' the spokesperson said, adding that the aircraft will return to active service once repairs and safety checks have been completed.
'Ground teams continue to work closely with Indian authorities to ensure safety and security precautions are observed. We thank the Indian authorities and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport for their continued support,' the spokesperson said.
Since the emergency landing of the fighter jet on June 14, it has remained unserviceable.
Manufactured by American defence and aerospace major Lockheed Martin and worth over USD 110 million, the F-35B jet is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.
This fighter jet was operating from the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. The jet was undertaking a routine sortie outside the Indian Air Defence Identification Zone with Thiruvananthapuram earmarked as an emergency recovery airfield.
After that, it could not return to the aircraft carrier after getting caught in adverse weather conditions.
According to officials, Royal Navy technicians from the carrier strike group had earlier attempted to repair the F-35B jet, but were unsuccessful. The aircraft had remained stranded at the airport since then.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Richmond had visited India as part of a UK carrier strike group for naval Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the north Arabian Sea.
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