UK's F-35 fighter jet makes emergency landing at Kerala airport over fuel shortage
PTC News Desk: A British F-35B Lightning II fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala late Saturday night after running low on fuel during a mission over the Indian Ocean.
The advanced 5th-generation stealth aircraft is part of the UK’s HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, which is currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific region and recently wrapped up joint naval exercises with the Indian Navy.
"Normal occurrence of diversion by F-35. IAF fully aware and facilitated the aircraft for flight safety reasons. All assistance being given, and IAF is in coordination with all agencies," the Indian Air Force said in a statement.
While military aviation experts consider such incidents rare, they are not without precedent. The F-35B model is built for short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL), enabling it to operate from aircraft carriers without the need for catapults. The exact reason it couldn’t return to the Prince of Wales remains unclear, but initial reports suggest that adverse weather conditions around the carrier may have made landing unsafe.
Developed by US defense giant Lockheed Martin, the F-35 program is seen as one of the most sophisticated multirole fighter aircraft systems in the world. Its stealth features, electronic warfare capabilities, and integrated data-sharing systems play a critical role in the modern air strategies of the US, UK, Israel, and NATO.
- With inputs from agencies
