Close to two weeks since the emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, the UK's F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft is to be shifted to the airport's Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility where it will wait for required repairs, the British High Commission confirmed on Friday.
A British F-35B warplane is lying in wait at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport waiting to be repaired after an engineering problem was noticed.
The UK accepted an offer to shift the plane to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility in the airport. Once UK engineers bring specialist equipment, the aircraft will be transferred to the hangar, thus ensuring little interruption to the planned maintenance of other planes," a British High Commission spokesperson explained.
He went on to say, "The aircraft will be back in service when repairs and safety inspections are finished. Ground crews remain in close coordination with Indian authorities to follow through on safety and security measures. We appreciate the support of Indian authorities and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport."
The plane, which is part of the UK HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group that has been on deployment in the Indo-Pacific, had returned from joint naval exercises with the Indian Navy when it was compelled to make an emergency landing in Thiruvananthapuram on June 14 because of a technical glitch.
The American defense behemoth Lockheed Martin-made jet was granted urgent landing clearance once it informed the air traffic control of severely low fuel levels.
In the beginning, officials — comprising the Indian Air Force, Airport Authority of India, and other officials — believed that the fighter would take off shortly after refuelling. But the engineers found a deeper technical failure, prohibiting its takeoff.
A Royal Navy helicopter was dispatched with a fresh pilot and a team of engineers to address the issue on-site. Despite repeated efforts over several days, the jet remained grounded, showing no response to launch attempts.
Currently stationed at Bay 4 of the airport under round-the-clock security, the jet’s extended stay has sparked concern, especially with the monsoon rains potentially affecting sensitive systems exposed to the elements.
Prized for its cutting-edge short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capability, the F-35B is designed for versatility and high performance on aircraft carriers as well as shorter runways. Still, the continuance of the problem has left UK authorities scratching their heads.
Local support alternatives having now run out, the issue is being passed over to Lockheed Martin technical specialists, who are due to travel imminently to conduct a thorough evaluation and repairs.
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