British stealth fighter jet stranded in India for over a week
A Royal Navy F-35B Lightning, the world's most advanced and expensive fighter jet, made an emergency landing on June 14.
The fifth-generation stealth fighter, part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, was carrying out military drills with the Indian navy earlier in the week.
The Telegraph understands that the aircraft was unable to return to the carrier due to poor weather conditions.
The pilot issued a distress signal at around 9pm local time last Saturday, triggering a full emergency protocol at Thiruvananthapuram airport, India media reported.
Flight-tracking data showed the US-designed aircraft landing safely half an hour later at the airport, which is Kerala's second busiest. According to Indian media reports, it then suffered a hydraulic failure.
'It was undertaking routine flying outside [the] Indian Air Defence Identification Zone with Thiruvananthapuram [airport] earmarked as the emergency recovery airfield,' India's air force said in a statement.
A maintenance team from the HMS Prince of Wales later arrived, but was unable to repair the F-35B's issue. A larger team from the UK is expected to travel to Kerala to assist in the technical work.
For now, the jet, which has sparked a wave of interest inside India, remains parked in the open at the airport under the protection of local authorities, with British personnel overseeing its recovery.
It is not yet known how long it will take until the aircraft is operational again, defence sources said.
Images taken at the airport over the past week show the slick grey fighter jet parked in an isolated bay with a small number of armed guards stationed around it. Questions have been raised as to how secure the prized military asset is, after an image emerged of just one Indian soldier in a high-visibility jacket standing in front of the jet, holding a gun.
However, the Royal Navy reportedly rejected Air India's offer to allocate hangar space to the aircraft due to concerns that other people could access and assess the advanced technologies on the jet.
If the second attempt to repair the jet fails, defence sources told ANI news agency that plans were in place to transport the fighter back to its home base aboard a military cargo aircraft.
The F-35 Lightning is Britain's front-line stealth fighter that forms part of the core offensive capabilities of the Royal Navy.
The single-seat, single-engine supersonic jet is considered to have the advanced computer and networking capabilities of any aircraft in the sky, along with stealth capabilities designed to evade enemy radars.
Built by American aerospace firm Lockheed Martin, the multi-role fighter has a top speed of 1,200mph – or 1.6 times the speed of sound.
India's air force does not have any F-35s and instead operates French-made Rafales as well as squadrons of mainly Russian and former Soviet aircraft.
The country is looking to expand its fighter fleet. The US is considering formally offering F-35s to India, but the country is concerned about the model's steep cost, heavy maintenance and operational issues.
The Royal Navy's Operation Highmast is an eight-month deployment led by the HMS Prince of Wales strike group and includes exercises with allies in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Indo-Pacific regions.
The carrier group's next planned port calls are Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia
The UK Ministry of Defence has been reached for comment.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Pilots suspended after another Air India flight struggles during takeoff hours after Ahmedabad crash
On 12 June, just 38 hours after the deadly Air India flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad, killing over 260 people, another flight from the same airline from Delhi to Vienna faced a serious safety scare. During takeoff, the Boeing 777 flight AI187 reportedly lost about 900ft in altitude and triggered multiple warnings, including a 'stall alert' and 'don't sink' Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS), a report in The Times of India claimed. Both the 'stall' and 'don't sink' warnings signal a dangerous loss of lift and altitude shortly after takeoff – requiring immediate corrective action to avoid a crash. Although the pilots managed to stabilise the aircraft and complete the flight to Vienna, both have reportedly since been suspended from flying duties pending an investigation by India's aviation regulator. The Boeing 777, which took off amid thunderstorms in Delhi at 2.56am on 14 June, according to flight tracing sites, reportedly lost about 900ft in altitude and triggered the critical warnings. The Indian aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has launched a probe, summoning Air India's head of safety and grounding both pilots pending investigation. Officials familiar with the incident told the outlet that the aircraft experienced multiple in-flight alerts shortly after takeoff. 'The aircraft was involved in an inflight occurrence of stick shaker and GPWS caution. Soon after takeoff, stick shaker warning and GPWS don't sink caution appeared. Stall warning came once and GPWS caution came twice,' an unidentified official was quoted as saying by the outlet. Just 38 hours after the deadly AI 171 crash, Air India faced another June 14, a Boeing 777 operating as flight AI 187 to Vienna experienced stall and ground proximity alerts shortly after takeoff from Delhi, dropping nearly 900 feet before pilots regained control. The… — Atulkrishan (@iAtulKrishan1) July 1, 2025 The official added: 'There was an altitude loss of around 900ft during climb. Subsequently, the crew recovered the aircraft and continued the flight to Vienna.' Notably, the initial flight report only cited 'stick shaker due to turbulence', omitting the more serious alerts, the report said. A deeper review of the flight data recorder later revealed that a stall warning and GPWS 'don't sink' caution had also occurred – findings that emerged amid heightened DGCA scrutiny following the AI171 crash. Both pilots have since been grounded, and AI's head of safety has reportedly been summoned as India's aviation regulator investigates. The DGCA earlier had ordered enhanced inspections of the airline's Boeing 787 and 777 fleets. In the wake of the incident, Air India has also cut its international wide-body operations by 15 per cent to accommodate intensified safety inspections. An Air India spokesperson said in a statement: 'Upon receipt of the pilot's report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft's recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation.' The Independent has reached out to Air India for further comment. Meanwhile, the preliminary report on the Air India Ahmedabad crash is expected to be released by 11 July, according to NDTV.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
What are the Air India crash theories and what happens next in the investigation?
Investigators have not ruled out sabotage as a cause for the Air India plane crash this month that killed 274 people. Flight AI171 bound for London Gatwick crashed just after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport on 12 June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as nearly 30 people on the ground. Security CCTV footage from the airport showed the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner taking off before, moments later, starting to descend and then crashing and exploding into flames. On Sunday, India's civil aviation minister said investigators are looking into all possible causes of the disaster, including sabotage. Experts have told Yahoo News they regard sabotage as one of the less likely causes of the crash and warned that the nature of the incident could hamper efforts to recover data from the aircraft's block box. As it also emerged that a report into the causes of the crash will be published in three months, Yahoo News UK looks at the potential theories behind the disaster. The plane's pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal - a veteran with 8,200 hours of flying experience - radioed air traffic control moments after take-off to say: "No thrust. Mayday, mayday." A report in the Wall Street Journal suggested that the aircraft's emergency power generator, known as the ram air turbine (RAT), was operating when the plane crashed, which aviation experts said indicated engine power failure may have been the cause. This system generates electricity and hydraulic pressure to ensure pilots can control the plane even if both engines fail. The likelihood of both engines failing is very rare, but can be caused by a bird strike. However, experts appear to have ruled out a bird strike, given none were visible in the CCTV footage of the crash. Some experts have said that CCTV footage shows the aircraft's wing flaps were not extended during take-off. This would have reduced lift during take-off in the 40C heat in India that requires higher flap settings. The plane's landing gear also appeared to be deployed, instead of being withdrawn upon leaving the runway. One theory is that the landing gear got stuck and that the pilots partially retracted the flaps to reduce drag in an attempt to keep climbing. However, if overdone, this could cause the plane to lose lift. Another possible cause being considered by investigators is fuel contamination, which can cause a double engine failure. Investigators will no doubt examine what fuel the Air India plane was using, the maintenance of refuelling equipment used at the airport and where exactly it was stored. The AAIB is also expected to look into whether the fuel was contaminated as part of a deliberate act of sabotage. On Sunday, Murlidhar Mohol, India's civil aviation minister, said that investigators from the country's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) were examining all of the potential causes of the crash, and that this included sabotage. In an interview with New Delhi Television (NDTV), he described the crash as an "unfortunate accident". However, he then spoke about the AAIB investigation into the disaster, saying: "It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. "The CCTV footage is being reviewed and all angles are being assessed. Several agencies are working on it." Aerospace engineering expert Dr Jason Knight, a senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth, told Yahoo News he didn't think sabotage would be found to be the cause of the disaster. "Whilst sabotage is a possibility, in my opinion, it would be highly unlikely as the cause of the accident," he said, pointing out it is standard practice to examine if sabotage is a factor in air disasters. "They will leave no stone unturned and investigate all possibilities, including sabotage as a cause - regardless of how unlikely it is to be the cause," he said. At the end of last week, investigators began downloading data from the two black boxes that were recovered after the crash. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) were located in the aftermath of the crash - one on the following day on the rooftop of a building and the other among the debris three days after the disaster. The Indian government said last week that the AAIB had started extracting the data from the black boxes after they were taken to New Delhi. Mohol dismissed reports that the black boxes would be sent outside the country for assessment, saying the AAIB will do the "entire investigation" and that a report into the causes of the crash will be published in three months. "Once the report comes, we will be able to ascertain if it was an engine problem or fuel supply issue or why both the engines had stopped functioning," he said. Dr Knight told Yahoo News: "The AAIB will want to be confident in their findings and will need time to gather evidence and examine all the findings. They will be using multiple sources of information to investigate and corroborate the actual cause." Dr Akhil Bhardwaj, a disasters expert and senior lecturer at the University of Bath, told Yahoo News the speed at which the incident happened may hamper the investigation. "Data from the recovered black box should enable investigators to zoom in on what went wrong," he said. "The short timeframe within which the event happened can make it more difficult to parse the data because many indicators might be confounded with each other and difficult to disentangle neatly. "This will take some time and investigators will naturally want to be careful about any report they release." Under United Nations (UN) rules, the AAIB must release a preliminary report on the crash within 30 days of the disaster. Investigators will also be looking at the possibility of any criminal charges. 'If there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing or negligence, one can imagine that charges will be brought," Dr Bhardwaj said. He pointed out that aeroplane manufacturer Boeing faced criminal charges after 346 people died in two similar plane crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and Ethiopia in March 2019 involving 737 MAX aircraft. It was reported last month that Boeing will avoid prosecution for fraud in the US following a deal with the justice department that will involve it paying more than $1.1bn, as well as an additional $445m for the crash victims' families. Speaking about the Air India crash, Dr Bhardwaj said: "Understandably, any suggestion that Boeing was responsible for the crash would be highly unwelcome, especially as the company is only now beginning to recover from the reputational damage caused by the 737 MAX incidents. "It remains to be seen whether this disaster was a one-off or if there are systematic issues that need to be addressed and there are lessons to be learned from it.' Boeing said in a statement it is ready to support any investigation.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Investigators look into Air India sabotage theory
The Indian authorities are investigating the possibility that sabotage could have caused the deadly Air India crash. Murlidhar Mohol, India's civil aviation minister, said investigators were examining all possibilities, including sabotage, that could have led to Air India Flight 171 plunging from the skies shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12. The crash killed at least 260 people, leaving only one survivor, and was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Mr Mohol said: 'It was an unfortunate incident. The AAIB [Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau] has begun a full investigation into it ... It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. 'The CCTV footage is being reviewed and all angles are being assessed ... several agencies are working on it.' The AAIB, assisted by American and British teams, is analysing the plane's voice and data recorders, known as black boxes, and has yet to comment on any findings. The minister called the crash a 'rare case' and, referring to claims by veteran pilots and experts that a dual-engine failure may have led to the crash, said: 'It has never happened that both engines have shut down together.' 'Once the report comes, we will be able to ascertain if it was an engine problem or fuel supply issue or why both engines had stopped functioning. 'There is a CVR [cockpit voice recorder] in the black box which has stored the conversation between the two pilots. It is too early to say anything, but whatever it is, it will come out. The report will come in three months.' The investigation is also looking at engine thrust, flap settings and why the landing gear remained extended, anonymous sources told Reuters. Maintenance records and crew actions are under review, while a bird strike has reportedly been ruled out. The assessment will also look at airport surveillance footage, radio communications and environmental conditions at the time of take-off. India's government said the process of data extraction from the black boxes started on June 24 with a team of Indian and US experts, including some from the US National Transportation Safety Board. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
