Kerala: The stranded British F-35B British fighter jet which had made an emergency landing at the Trivandrum Airport last month, has been moved to the Air India hangar from its grounded position.
“The F-35 fighter aircraft has been taken to the Air India hangar at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala, where a technical team of UK Royal Air Force would try to repair it and take it back,” news wire ANI quoted Defence sources as saying.
A team of 25 technical experts from the British Royal Air Force aboard an A400M Atlas military aircraft arrived at Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Sunday, to assess the F-35 fighter jet.
Take a look at the video here:
The British Royal Navy fighter jet worth over USD 110 million and known to be one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world, made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14.
Engineers deployed for British Royal Navy jet's repair
As part of the standard protocol, the British F-35B fighter jet was moved to the hangar on Sunday, July 6 after a team of UK engineers arrived at the Trivandrum Airport to assess and repair the stranded aircraft.
This comes after the UK authorities accepted the offer of space in a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for the British Royal jet on Sunday.
“The UK remains very grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams,” the British High Commissioner said in a statement, reported ANI.
Why the British jet had to stop in India?
On Saturday, June 14, the British jet had to make an emergency landing after reporting low fuel mid-flight, news wire PTI reported, citing sources.
"The pilot reported low fuel and asked for permission to land. Everything was handled quickly and professionally," the source said.
The stranded F-35 jet is the same aircraft which US President Donald Trump earlier this year, offered to include India among the select group of nations authorised to buy from the US.
When the jet became the talk of the town
Even weeks after the F-35 stealth fighter's surprise landing in Kerala, the buzz around the stranded aircraft showed no signs of fading. What started as public curiosity turned into a full-blown social media trend.
The Kerala Tourism Department kicked things off with a light-hearted social media post featuring the aircraft, and it didn’t take long for others to join the fun. From Milma, the state’s dairy cooperative, to the Kerala Police, the State AIDS Control Society, and even private brands — everyone jumped on the bandwagon with their own clever and quirky takes.
