British F-35B Lightning II fighter jet makes emergency landing at Kerala airport
A British F-35B Lightning II fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala on Saturday night after running low on fuel during a sortie over the Indian Ocean.
"Normal occurence 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.
The 5th-generation stealth fighter is part of the UK's HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, which is currently operating in the Indo-Pacific.
The F-35B variant is designed for short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL), which enables it to operate from aircraft carriers without catapult systems.
However, it is not clear why the aircraft was unable to recover onto the Prince of Wales.
As per early indications, poor weather conditions around the carrier may have prevented a safe landing.
The F-35 programme, spearheaded by US defence contractor Lockheed Martin, is considered as one of the most advanced multirole fighter aircraft platforms in service today.
The aircraft's stealth capabilities, electronic warfare systems, and data-sharing infrastructure are of great significance to the US, UK, Israel and NATO's modern air strategy.
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