Latest news with #F-35Bs
Mint
21-07-2025
- General
- Mint
British Royal Navy's F-35B fighter jet, parked at Thiruvananthapuram airport for 5 weeks, may leave soon
Grounded at Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram International Airport since 14 June, the British Royal Navy's F-35B may soon fly back, ANI reported. On Monday, the F-35B was seen being towed into a hangar at the airport. While there were reports it might depart the same day, the exact date of its departure has yet to be confirmed The report added that the F-35B fighter jet, en route from the UK to Australia, made an emergency landing in Kerala's Trivandrum following a hydraulic system fault. The jet's issues have been rectified, and NDTV reported that a final clearance has been given to fly on Tuesday. The F-35B fighter jet, part of the UK Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, was out on a routine sortie when it developed a snag and could not land on the ship. After the jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, the Indian Air Force provided all required support and assisted in the process, including refuelling. A technical team from the UK Royal Air Force arrived at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on 5 July to repair the F-35 B jet; however, the fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft was parked at the airport's bay for many days. Later, the jet was moved to Air India hangar where a team from the UK were brought to repair the fighter jet. Built by Lockheed Martin, F-35Bs are highly advanced stealth jets prized for their short take-off and vertical landing capabilities. After the F35B jet was parked on the tarmac and soaked by the Kerala monsoon rains, several images surfaced on social media, and people made memes out of them. The Kerala Tourism Department was the first to share an image of the aircraft on social media X with a humorous caption, "Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave".
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First Post
21-07-2025
- General
- First Post
UK F-35 jet stuck in Kerala 'ready to fly' 5 weeks after technical snag:
UK's F-35B jet, which has been stuck in Kerala for more than five weeks, will be taking off on Tuesday, airport officials confirmed. read more A British F-35B fighter jet, which has been stranded since June 14, 2025 is seen at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, in the southern state of Kerala, India, on June 26, 2025. AP The UK's F-35B jet, which has been stuck in Kerala for more than five weeks, is set to fly on Tuesday. The state-of-the-art British fighter jet is due to be 'pulled back from the hangar today, and the departure is scheduled for Tuesday', an airport spokesman told the BBC. 'We do not have any technical details,' he added. The F-35B jet landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft was diverted after it ran into bad weather while conducting sorties in the Indian Ocean. The fighter jet then developed a technical snag, forcing it to remain stuck in Kerala. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The jet's prolonged presence on Indian soil sparked curiosity and raised questions over how such a modern aircraft remained stranded in a foreign nation for so long. It is pertinent to note that the aircraft was part of the fleet of the HMS Prince of Wales. The F-35Bs are highly advanced stealth jets, built by Lockheed Martin, and are known for their short take-off and vertical landing capability. The case of the stranded $110m (£80m) jet was also raised in the House of Commons. The struggle to get the fighter jet repaired After the plane made an emergency landing in Kerala, engineers from the British Royal Navy's flagship carrier visited India to fix the aircraft. However, they were unable to repair. Fortnight back, the UK Ministry of Defence issued a statement in which they noted that they had deployed a team of 14 engineers 'to Thiruvananthapuram airport to assess and repair the F-35B aircraft'. The team came to India with specialist equipment necessary for the movement and repair process, a statement said. Meanwhile, videos circulating online at the time showed the F-35B being towed away to a hangar. Some experts went on to claim that if the technicians failed to repair the aircraft, the fighter jet would have to be dismantled and carried out in a bigger cargo plane, such as a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. According to the BBC, the UK High Commission in India and the British Defence Ministry maintained that they would not share details of repairs. However, things changed on Monday when airport officials told the BBC that 'the aircraft is confirmed to be airworthy'. As per the report, the F-35B fighter jet is scheduled to be pulled out on Monday, and the exact time of its departure is 'yet to be communicated'. The timings will also depend on which airport will be used for refuelling on the way to London or when the backup aircraft will arrive to transport the technicians and equipment back". STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Yomiuri Shimbun
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Deployment of Osprey Aircraft: Govt Must Make Every Effort to Dispel Residents' Concerns
Even if effective defense equipment is procured, it will be meaningless if the understanding of the local communities where it will be deployed cannot be obtained. The government must do its utmost to dispel the concerns of residents. The Ground Self-Defense Force has opened Camp Saga next to Saga Airport. It plans to relocate 17 Osprey transport aircraft, which have been temporarily deployed at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, to Camp Saga by mid-August. To strengthen the defense system for the Nansei Islands, the government deployed the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, which is tasked with recapturing remote islands, to Camp Ainoura in Nagasaki Prefecture in 2018. The plan was to deploy Ospreys to Camp Saga, which is close to Camp Ainoura, and use them to transport Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade personnel, but the understanding of the Saga Prefecture side could not be obtained. Therefore, the Ospreys were sent to Camp Kisarazu as a temporary measure in 2020, and the central government has continued to hold discussions with the Saga prefectural government and other entities. With the opening of Camp Saga, it can be said that a system has finally been put in place to smoothly implement the operations to retake remote islands. The U.S.-made Osprey aircraft can fly at higher speeds and has a longer range than conventional helicopters. The aircraft may be used not only for contingency operations, but also for rescue operations in times of disasters. It is hoped that the GSDF will continue training and prepare for emergency situations. However, there are still many people in Saga Prefecture who have concerns about the deployment of the Osprey aircraft, as accidents involving similar models have continued both in Japan and overseas. In 2023, an Osprey belonging to the U.S. military crashed off the coast of Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, killing eight personnel. The U.S. military attributed the accident to a gearbox failure, among other reasons, but how the problem occurred is still unknown. In the first place, an Osprey has the functions of both a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft. Both the Japanese and U.S. governments must thoroughly strengthen safety measures to ensure that there are no structural mechanical problems with the aircraft. With the worsening security environment, more people have recently come to appreciate the activities of the Self-Defense Forces. However, it is unacceptable that the Defense Ministry and the SDF are poorly handling the issue of the flight operations of fighter aircraft. The Air Self-Defense Force plans to deploy eight F-35Bs, the most advanced U.S.-made stealth fighter aircraft, to Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture. The ASDF intends to increase the number of F-35Bs to 42 in the future. The aircraft are characterized by their ability to land vertically and are envisioned for use on vessels, such as the Kaga destroyer, which is currently undergoing repairs to fix its decks. The ASDF initially told residents near Nyutabaru Air Base that, in principle, the aircraft would not perform vertical landings. However, in February this year, it changed its explanation to say the aircraft would do so about 100 times a month. It said that as vertical landings take time, the noise would be heard for some time. In response to opposition from the residents, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani apologized and said new measures would be taken. The defense minister himself should visit the area and try to explain the situation. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 11, 2025)
ITV News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Starmer has bought nuclear bomb-carrying jets - what does this mean for UK defence?
The UK already flies F-35B jets, which operate from the Royal Navy 's aircraft carriers. Now the government is to swap out at least a dozen F-35Bs from its next order for F-35As which fly from conventional runways, have a greater range and which can carry American B61 tactical - or battlefield - nuclear weapons. These can deliver a smaller nuclear yield than the strategic nuclear weapons carried by the Royal Navy's Trident system. The theory is that the smaller yield allows NATO to respond in kind to the use of battlefield nuclear weapons by an opponent like Russia. Without lower yield nuclear weapons, the choice would be between a conventional response which might not work as a deterrent, and using a strategic nuclear weapon which would be a massive - potentially world ending - nuclear escalation. It's believed the United States stores around a hundred tactical nuclear weapons across six airbases in western Europe. The government isn't saying where the nuclear bombs for these new jets will be stored. Britain's nuclear warheads are built in Aldermaston in Berkshire and stored at Coulport near Faslane, but the new aircraft will be based at the other end of the country at RAF Marham in Norfolk. One option for storage is RAF Lakenheath which held American nuclear weapons until 2008 and where the US Airforce has reportedly been refurbishing aircraft shelters with underground vaults. The big question is who would command these nuclear armed jets. The answer is - not us. While the new jets belong to the RAF and the US retains 'absolute control and command' of the nuclear bombs, any mission combining the two would have to be approved by the 31 members of NATO 's Nuclear Planning Group. As a member the UK would always have the option to opt out. But this decision is controversial. Campaigners are accusing the government of nuclear proliferation and are already planning protests at airbases.
ITV News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Campaigners say east could become 'a target' as a dozen nuclear bomb fighter jets set for RAF Marham
Campaigners have claimed that stationing 12 new fighter jets capable of deploying nuclear weapons in the east of England could make the area a target for the UK's enemies. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the government's purchase of a dozen American F-35A jets, a variation of the F-35Bs the UK already uses, will be based at RAF Marham in west Norfolk. A spokesperson for the MoD refused to confirm or deny, as is government policy, whether nuclear weapons would also be housed there. The announcement has been welcomed by some as offering job security for the base, but anti-nuclear campaigners said they feared the consequences. Sue Wright, chair of the Norwich and District branch for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said that with a refuelling station at RAF Mildenhall, the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk may be vulnerable. "I am very concerned about it, it definitely does make us a target," she told ITV News Anglia. "I've heard people say 'if it lands us on, no problem, we'll be destroyed'. There will be a certain area where everyone will die, but the surrounding area many people will die after a very long time. "Nuclear weapons are not the answer, nuclear weapons can destroy the world." Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at a NATO summit, said it was 'the biggest strengthening of the UK's nuclear posture in a generation' and would see the UK join Nato's airborne nuclear mission. Currently the UK's only nuclear weapons are submarine-based. Defence Secretary John Healey said the decision followed a strategic defence review that 'confirmed we face new nuclear risks, with other states increasing, modernising and diversifying their nuclear arsenals'. The news of the new aircraft and its potential to create more jobs in the area was welcomed by King's Lynn and West Norfolk councillor Pallavi Devulapalli, who said: "I welcome any investment in Marham as an airbase to secure it's sustainability and its future. "It's a very important part of the local area and it provides a great boost to the local economy. We value it." While the aircraft would belong to the UK, the weapons on board would be American B61-12 bombs. The announcement was made at a meeting of NATO members at The Hague, where Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, along with his European counterparts, promised to increased spending on defence to 4.1% of GDP within two years and 5% by 2035. It comes as leaders observe a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran in the Middle East after 12 days of intense fighting and the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began in 2022.
