Stranded UK F-35B finally flies out of India

The British Royal Navy Lockheed Martin F-35B fifth generation stealth fighter aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, stranded after running into bad weather conditions at Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala state in southern India, finally took off on Tuesday after 37 days, having been grounded since June 14th because of malfunctions.

The aircraft took for Darwin, Australia to presumably join its Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which is on deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. The British High Commission in New Delhi tweeted on Tuesday, “UPDATE: Following completion of repairs and safety checks, the UK F-35B aircraft today departed from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, resuming active service. We are grateful for all the support from the Indian authorities.”

It is not fully clear what then went wrong with the aircraft but measures to recover the aircraft had included options like sending in a team to repair it or shipping it after dismounting by sea or heavy lift transport aircraft.

As it happened, repair personnel were sent in to fix the aircraft on July 06th.

The aircraft remained on the tarmac exposed to the elements of the Kerala monsoon as the British insisted it remain under watch at all times, until they took up the Indian offer to shift it into a hangar.

While the aircraft took a forced holiday in Kerala, it became the subject of jokes and memes online and the state’s tourism department also took the opportunity to promote the state as a destination for R&R.