20-06-2025
Meet F-35B Lightning: UKs Fighter Jet That Royal Air Force Calls ‘Stealth Aircraft'; Check Role, Capabilities, And…
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The F-35B Lightning is a 'stealth aircraft' operating alongside the Typhoon, according to the UK's Royal Air Force. It is a short take-off and vertical landing aircraft that can operate from aircraft carriers and in austere environments.
Meanwhile, to bring forward a recent event, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday (June 15) informed in a post on X that a British Royal Navy F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on Saturday night. Updated:Jun 20, 2025, 03:56 PM IST Role
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The Royal Air Force described the fighter jet as a "multi-role machine" and added that it is capable of conducting electronic warfare, air-to-surface, air-to-air missions, and intelligence gathering simultaneously.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) Capability
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The aircraft features advanced sensors, mission systems, and low-observable technology, also known as stealth, which allows it to operate undetected in hostile environments.
Using the integrated sensors, the pilot has situational awareness of the battle space while operating the F-35B Lightning. The pilot could share the collected information with other platforms using secure data links or utilize it to employ its weapons or electronic attack capabilities.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) History
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As per the Royal Air Force, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II is "the result of decades of development starting with the US Navy's 1983 Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA) program to replace the A-6 Intruder and DARPA's Advanced Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) project, aimed at creating a supersonic successor to the Harrier."
The ASTOVL and ATA programs evolved, merging into the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program by 1996.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) Boeing and Lockheed Martin
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Boeing and Lockheed Martin were entrusted to produce demonstrators for a competitive fly-off.
The timeline of the production, test and delivery was such that in 2001, Lockheed Martin won the contract with its X-35, which became the F-35 Lightning II. The UK joined as a 'key partner', choosing the F-35B STOVL variant for its Harrier replacement and its Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) UK's First F-35 In...
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The UK received its first F-35B in 2012, and RAF Marham was made the 'primary base' for the aircraft. In July 2012, the UK government decided to purchase an initial batch of 48 aircraft. The first of these was delivered on July 19, 2012, for trials work, a task 17 (Reserve) Squadron assumed in 2014.
"617 Squadron reformed as the first front-line Lightning squadron in 2018, comprising RN and RAF personnel, followed by 207 Squadron – the Operational Conversion unit – in 2019. Lightning achieved its Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in December 2018 and became IOC (Maritime) in December 2020," the RAF's website elaborated.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) First British Pilot To Fly F-35
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To go back a little on the timeline, Squadron Leader Steve Long became the first British pilot to fly an F-35 on January 26, 2010.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) First Operational Squadron
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The first operational squadron, 617 Sqn, arrived in the UK in 2018.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) Joint US-UK Carrier Operations
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US Marine Corps F-35Bs joined UK jets for training ahead of HMS (Her Majesty's Ship) Queen Elizabeth's first operational cruise in 2021, marking the start of joint UK-US carrier operations.
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X) British Royal Navy F-35B's Emergency Landing
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In a post on X, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on June 15 (Sunday) informed that the Royal Navy F-35B fighter recovered off an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in India on the night of June 14 (Saturday).
"Operating from UK Aircraft Carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, it was undertaking routine flying outside Indian ADIZ with Thiruvananthapuram earmarked as the emergency recovery airfield," the IAF said.
"On having declared a diversion off an emergency, the F-35 B was detected and identified by the IAF's IACCS network and cleared for the recovery. IAF is providing all necessary support for the rectification and subsequent return of the aircraft," the IAF added.
(Photo Credit: @IAF_MCC) Credits
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Note: All information about the jet has been accessed through the UK Royal Air Force's official website
(Photo Credit: @RoyalAirForce/ X)
