Kerala tourist board pokes fun at stranded British F-35 fighter jet
One thing Britain's most advanced warplane cannot seem to do, though, is take off from an Indian airfield.
'Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave,' the state's tourist board has joked after one of the jets broke down at Thiruvananthapuram international airport last month.
The Royal Navy aircraft has been marooned there for nearly three weeks after bad weather forced it to make an emergency landing during a routine flight from HMS Prince of Wales. It then developed an engineering problem that prevented it from returning to the aircraft carrier, which has been operating in southeast Asian waters with Nato allies.
After an assessment by the carrier's engineers, it was decided that support from specialists in the UK was needed to get the F-35 airborne again. No forecast has been given by the Ministry of Defence on when the repairs will be finished, and British military personnel have been deployed to guard the £89 million jet.
The saga has prompted Kerala Tourism to poke fun at the situation with a fake five-star review of the southwestern region of India, as if it had been written by the stranded warplane.
'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend,' the spoof review by the user 'UK F-35B' said on the tourist board's social media pages.
A member of India's Central Industrial Security Force is reported to have also been guarding the solitary aircraft, over concerns that its technological secrets may be vulnerable. Although India has a strong relationship with the UK, it also has close ties with Russia.
The aircraft has so far been left out in the open on the tarmac of the civilian airport but is due to be moved to a space in the maintenance repair and overhaul facility hangar when specialist equipment and UK engineering teams arrive.
A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: 'We are working to repair the UK F-35B at Thiruvananthapuram international airport as quickly as possible. We thank the Indian authorities for their continued support.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Stranded UK F-35 jet becomes unexpected star in Indian tourism campaign
NEW DELHI, July 3 (Reuters) - India's southern state of Kerala has found a unique ambassador to promote its coconut palm-lined beaches, backwaters and vibrant culture to tourists - a British F-35 fighter jet that has been stranded there since mid-June. The Royal Navy aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at the airport of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram on June 14 and has been grounded ever since, despite efforts to repair it. An AI-generated image of the stealth aircraft parked on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees has gone viral after it was shared by Kerala's tourism department on Wednesday. "This was part of our tourism campaign. It has been one of the most innovative and eye-catching ones... It's all in good humour and creativity," Biju K., Kerala's tourism secretary, told Reuters. In the viral social media post, originally created by entertainment website The Fauxy, the jet can be seen giving the state of Kerala five golden stars, calling it "an amazing place". "I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend," the image quotes the jet as saying. "Though tourism is under the government, it has moved out of government space in promoting the destination," said Roy Mathew, director of Stark Communications, the tourism department's brand promotion agency. Kerala is among India's most popular tourist destinations, and markets itself with the tagline 'God's own country'. Last year, 22.2 million tourists visited the state. It boasts natural beauty along India's south-western coastline and a rich heritage of classical dances, temple festivals and vibrant cuisine. The Indian Air Force said last month it would help in the repair and return of the F-35, which made an emergency landing on June 14 when it was flying over the Arabian Sea off Kerala's coast. A British High Commission spokesperson told Reuters the UK had accepted an offer to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility at the airport. The jet will be moved to the hangar once engineering teams arrive from the UK with specialist equipment, the spokesperson added. The Royal Navy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. UK's Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard said in Parliament on Monday that a Royal Air Force crew were in Thiruvananthapuram and working with Indian counterparts.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
India scorns Royal Navy over beached F-35B stealth jet
An Indian tourism board has ruthlessly mocked the Royal Navy over one of its F-35B stealth jets which has been stranded in the country for more than a fortnight. The £88m warplane, dubbed one of the world's most hi-tech, was forced to make an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport, in Kerala, on June 14. The fighter jet had been on a mission with the Royal Navy's new £3.5billion aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales when it encountered bad weather over the Indian Ocean. Since landing at the airport, which sees almost five million passengers passing through it every year, the stealth aircraft has been stuck due to an engineering issue. And on Wednesday, Kerala's tourist board appeared to poke fun at the clapped-out fighter jet by posting a tongue-in-cheek cartoon image of the F-35 on a runway surrounded by palm trees. The picture, thought to have been created with generative AI , even featured a fake review of the southern Indian state, written by 'UK F-35B' that read: 'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.' Kerala Tourism - which has 1.9million followers on X, formerly Twitter - captioned the image: 'Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave.' The post has since been seen by more than a million people, with many joining in to mock the stricken warplane. 'The British always have difficulty leaving India once they land here. They always need some strong persuasion to leave India,' one said, in a nod to the UK's colonial past as imperial rulers of India for almost 200 years. 'That awkward moment when the UK F35 force finds itself the subject of a tourism poster...,' one poster added, with another tweeting: 'Top banter! Well played.' A defence source said the post was 'quite funny' but added technical issues could arise unexpectedly. 'These things are not uncommon,' they said. The hi-tech fighter jet was taking part in drills with the Indian Navy when it was forced to carry out an emergency landing. The Indian Air Force said it was providing support to the Royal Navy plane 'for the rectification and subsequent return of the aircraft'. A Royal Navy source previously told MailOnline the plane was unable to return to the £3.5billion aircraft carrier due to adverse weather conditions. However, while the jet was at the Indian airport, it developed an 'engineering issue' which has left it unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales. 'Prioritising safety, the aircraft diverted to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in India, where it landed safely and without incident,' they said. The source said it was standard practice for aircraft to carry sufficient fuel reserves to accommodate such diversions when necessary. MailOnline understands engineers from the aircraft carrier have assessed the stealth jet and decided a specialist team of technicians from the UK is needed to fix it. Currently, the Ministry of Defence does not have a forecast for when the aircraft will be repaired. It potentially means it will no longer be available for the remainder of the Prince of Wales's global deployment, which is expected to continue until December. To minimise any disruption to the regular airport operations, the F-35 will be moved to a space at the site's maintenance, repair and overhaul facility once specialist equipment and engineers from the UK arrive. The multi-million pound stealth aircraft is currently parked in an isolated bay under armed guard. However, questions have been raised over how secure the prized piece of military kit is after images emerged of just one Indian soldier armed with an assault rifle guarding it. The jets are packed with an array of highly sensitive and secret technology, which the the likes of Russia and Iran would be eager to get their hands on.
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Royal Navy mocked by Indian tourist board over £88million F-35B Lightning jet stranded in the country for over a fortnight
An Indian tourism board has ruthlessly mocked the Royal Navy over one of its F-35B stealth jets which has been stranded in the country for more than a fortnight. The £88m warplane, dubbed one of the world's most hi-tech, was forced to make an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport, in Kerala, on June 14. The fighter jet had been on a mission with the Royal Navy's new £3.5billion aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales when it encountered bad weather over the Indian Ocean. Since landing at the airport, which sees almost five million passengers passing through it every year, the stealth aircraft has been stuck due to an engineering issue. And on Wednesday, Kerala's tourist board appeared to poke fun at the clapped-out fighter jet by posting a tongue-in-cheek cartoon image of the F-35 on a runway surrounded by palm trees. The picture, thought to have been created with generative AI, even featured a fake review of the southern Indian state, written by 'UK F-35B' that read: 'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.' Kerala Tourism - which has 1.9million followers on X, formerly Twitter - captioned the image: 'Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave.' The post has since been seen by more than a million people, with many joining in to mock the stricken warplane. 'The British always have difficulty leaving India once they land here. They always need some strong persuasion to leave India,' one said, in a nod to the UK's colonial past as imperial rulers of India for almost 200 years. 'That awkward moment when the UK F35 force finds itself the subject of a tourism poster...,' one poster added, with another tweeting: 'Top banter! Well played.' A defence source said the post was 'quite funny' but added technical issues could arise unexpectedly. 'These things are not uncommon,' they said. The hi-tech fighter jet was taking part in drills with the Indian Navy when it was forced to carry out an emergency landing. The Indian Air Force said it was providing support to the Royal Navy plane 'for the rectification and subsequent return of the aircraft'. A Royal Navy source previously told MailOnline the plane was unable to return to the £3.5billion aircraft carrier due to adverse weather conditions. However, while the jet was at the Indian airport, it developed an 'engineering issue' which has left it unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales. 'Prioritising safety, the aircraft diverted to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in India, where it landed safely and without incident,' they said. The source said it was standard practice for aircraft to carry sufficient fuel reserves to accommodate such diversions when necessary. MailOnline understands engineers from the aircraft carrier have assessed the stealth jet and decided a specialist team of technicians from the UK is needed to fix it. Currently, the Ministry of Defence does not have a forecast for when the aircraft will be repaired. It potentially means it will no longer be available for the remainder of the Prince of Wales's global deployment, which is expected to continue until December. To minimise any disruption to the regular airport operations, the F-35 will be moved to a space at the site's maintenance, repair and overhaul facility once specialist equipment and engineers from the UK arrive. The multi-million pound stealth aircraft is currently parked in an isolated bay under armed guard. However, questions have been raised over how secure the prized piece of military kit is after images emerged of just one Indian soldier armed with an assault rifle guarding it. The jets are packed with an array of highly sensitive and secret technology, which the the likes of Russia and Iran would be eager to get their hands on. Reports previously suggested the the Royal Navy had rejected Air India's offer to place the aircraft in one of its hangars over concerns other people could access and steal the classified technology in the jet. However, a defence insider insisted this was not the case, saying moving the F-35 into the hangar to essentially 'stay in storage' while waiting for UK engineers to arrive would have taken up vital space used by local crews to fix jets. An MoD spokeswoman told MailOnline on Wednesday: 'We are working to repair the UK F-35B at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport as quickly as possible.
