New Delhi: Over three weeks after a hydraulic snag grounded the UK’s F-35B stealth fighter, a British engineering team began work on the jet that is now towed to a designated maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hangar in Thiruvananthapuram airport.
The team was flown in on a Royal Air Force (RAF) A400M Atlas military transport aircraft to carry out the repair works.
“A team of UK engineers has arrived in India to commence repairs on the UK F35B aircraft,” British High Commission’s defence adviser Commodore Chris Saunders said Monday in a post on X. “Repairs are underway on the aircraft, which has now been moved to the maintenance hangar. We are grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities.”
The team of around 25 technical experts had arrived over the weekend and the engineers will now assess whether the F-35B can be repaired on site or if it will need to be dismantled and transported back to the UK.
The British High Commission also released a statement Sunday, confirming the deployment of a UK engineering team to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport “to assess and repair the UK F-35B aircraft, which landed following an emergency diversion.”
“The UK has accepted India’s offer to use the MRO facility at the airport and is working with relevant authorities to finalise arrangements,” the statement added. “In line with standard procedure, the aircraft will be moved following the arrival of UK engineers, who are carrying specialist equipment necessary for the movement and repair process.”
As reported earlier by ThePrint, the F-35B had been operating from HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier, which had recently concluded joint exercises with the Indian Navy. The aircraft was flying outside India’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) when it diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to adverse weather and low fuel. It was detected and cleared to land by the Indian Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS).
Preliminary assessments have indicated that the stealth fighter may have experienced fuel starvation during its final approach, potentially damaging components crucial to its vertical landing system. More broadly, failures in the hydraulic system can severely impact the jet’s control surfaces, landing gear, braking and, most importantly, its vertical lift capabilities.
Notably, a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) within the US Department of Defense had flagged in 2024 that the F-35 programme’s global sustainment challenges, pointing out that major component repairs, hydraulics included, took an average of 141 days. The delays were attributed to global supply chain bottlenecks, limited maintenance capacity, and shortages of spare parts in the report.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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