British F-35B Makes Emergency Landing in India

A Royal Air Force F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on the night of June 14-15.

This was reported on the official page of the Indian Air Force on X.

The aircraft, part of the 617 Squadron, was assigned to the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, which is currently deployed in the Indo-Pacific region.

The fighter was initially performing a scheduled flight outside the Indian air defense identification zone in the Thiruvananthapuram area.

According to unofficial information released by British media, the emergency landing was made due to insufficient fuel for a safe return to the aircraft carrier.

Judging by the published photos, the F-35B has the tail number ZM168 and is one of the newest aircraft of this type in the Royal Air Force.

According to the representatives of the Indian Air Force, preparations are currently underway for the aircraft to return to the aircraft carrier. Neither the pilot nor the aircraft were damaged during the landing.

In addition, an ASRAAM training missile was suspended from the aircraft at the time of the emergency landing.

It should be noted that the F-35B currently does not have external fuel tanks, so its combat radius and maximum flight range are limited. In addition, the B version is a modification with a shortened takeoff and vertical landing, so aircraft are not usually refueled to full capacity for a safe takeoff from the ramp.

This incident was one of the few involving F-35B aircraft in the Royal Air Force, which had previously made emergency landings for technical reasons.

Despite this, one aircraft of this type was lost during takeoff from the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea.

The incident occurred on November 17, 2021. The cause of the loss was a mistake by technical personnel who forgot to remove the transport plugs from the air intakes.