Indian radar triggered F-35 emergency lockdown? YouTuber's viral video explains why UK's stealth fighter jet remains stuck in Kerala
F-35B fighter jet
has been lying grounded at a civilian airport in Kerala for nearly two weeks, following an emergency landing. The jet, part of the UK's participation in 'Operation High Mast,' reportedly landed due to weather-related issues, low fuel, and technical glitches. However, YouTuber Amit Sengupta has contested this narrative, claiming the aircraft's presence could be the result of something far more serious.
F-35 fighter jet left out in the rain
According to a viral vidoe by Sengupta, the F-35B, considered one of the world's most advanced stealth aircraft, is stuck exposed to Kerala's monsoon. 'Even broken furniture and old scooters in a gully gets fixed faster than this,' he said in the video.
Why is Lockheed Martin involved?
The situation has escalated with news that a 40-member team from the UK, including engineers from Lockheed Martin, the jet's original manufacturer, is being dispatched. Sengupta raised a question: 'Why do you need people from Lockheed Martin, original equipment manufacturer? That only means one thing… either the jet is locked and you need people from OEM who are authorised and trained to handle it or maybe unlock it.'
He suggests that the jet's lockdown might not be a routine technical glitch, but possibly a deeper issue involving encrypted software, firmware, or stealth components that only the manufacturer can access.
Landing in India wasn't random, claims YouTuber
Sengupta challenges the idea that bad weather or fuel shortage forced the jet to land in India. He notes that British naval aircraft usually operate in groups with multiple landing and support options at sea. He argues that if this F-35B still landed in India, a non-NATO country, it likely wasn't a matter of choice by the pilot.
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'The F-35B landed at a Kerala civilian airport, not even at the adjacent air force station located right next to it,' Sengupta pointed out. He claims this is because the jet's system may have overridden manual controls and chosen the nearest safe civilian runway as part of its emergency landing protocol.
Did India's radar system lock the stealth jet?
The Indian Air Force officially stated: 'The aircraft was detected and identified by the Indian Air Force's IACCCS network and was cleared for recovery.' IACCCS stands for Integrated Air Command and Control System, India's high-level defence network for monitoring aerial threats."
Sengupta believes this radar detection may have been the trigger. 'As soon as the jet entered a certain range, India's IACCCS detected and logged onto it using radar and electronic warfare systems. That lock triggered a self-defense response inside the F-35B, possibly a firmware-based system lock or cyber interference.'
A failed spy attempt?
In the final part of his analysis, Sengupta makes a more controversial claim: that the F-35B's mission was never routine. Instead, he suggests the UK may have been testing India's radar defences under the cover of a joint exercise. 'So basically in the name of joint exercise, Britain used one of its F-35B to test or probe India's air defense network.'
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He claims the stealth jet may have been used to map India's radar coverage and electronic response patterns. But India's early detection system possibly responded in a way that forced the F-35 into lockdown. 'It probably thought it could sneak in, sniff around, and slip out unnoticed, but then it got grounded.'
Stuck F-35: The unanswered questions
The presence of
Lockheed Martin
engineers, the unusual choice of a civilian landing site, and the length of time the jet has remained grounded have all raised serious questions. If the UK's most advanced jet requires manufacturer-level intervention, it could point to either a highly complex malfunction, or, as Sengupta suggests, the possibility of India's defence system forcing an emergency lockdown.
As of now, neither the British Ministry of Defence nor Indian authorities have offered a detailed explanation beyond the original statement. The jet remains in Kerala, as does speculation around why it landed, why it hasn't left, and what really happened in India's airspace.
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