Why has the British F-35B fighter jet still not taken off from Thiruvananthapuram airport

Thiruvananthapuram: The unusually long 'vacation' of the Royal Navy fighter jet F-35B that made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on the night of June 14 has set off wild speculations. 

Is it a rogue aircraft that has lost its way into the Kerala coast? Or was the supersonic stealth strike fighter disabled by enemy attack? Or has it been abandoned by the British?

The futuristic F-35B, the same American model deployed by Israel to attack Iran, seemed increasingly like a busted vehicle abandoned near traffic police stations that many social media users had fun putting the jet up for sale on OLX for a throwaway price of Rs one crore.  

Onmanorama tried to get some answers. Official sources (Indian Air Force and Trivandrum International Airport Limited - TIAL) were tight-lipped, except to give a terse statement that the jet has developed serious technical glitch.

"They are waiting for technicians from the UK. Seems major issue," is how the TIAL authorities responded. A defence source said that top technicians from the UK had already been flown into Thiruvananthapuram but they have not yet been able to rectify the issue.

From various other sources, what emerges is that the F-35B, an asset of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) that was leading the UK Carrier Strike Group, did make several attempts to land on the mother frigate on June 14 but couldn't because of the obnoxious weather. By then, it was already low on fuel. Subsequently, the SQUAWK 7700 distress code was activated, and the fighter jet was promptly guided by the Indian Air Force's Integrated Air Command and Control System to Bay 4 of the Thiruvananthapuram airport, a slot reserved for VIP aircraft. 

Initially, it was speculated that low fuel had forced the British jet to land in Thiruvananthapuram. Now, it is certain that low fuel had aggravated to fuel starvation as a result of its repeated attempts to land on the mother ship (HMS Prince of Wales). "The jet could have dragged itself without fuel during the last stretch. Deprived of fuel, the jet's Pratt & Whitney F135 engine would have gone kaput. The aircraft would require innumerable maintenance checks and replacement of parts before it could be declared flightworthy," a top aviation expert told Onmanorama. 

The original pilot was replaced the day after the landing. Along with the replacement pilot, three technicians had also arrived in a Royal Navy helicopter. When they could not fix the problem, another set of technicians arrived. According to sources, even they have not been able to fix the problem. Some of these from the latest batch have flown back to the HMS Prince of Wales. Those remaining, including the replacement pilot, are working overtime to repair the engine. They have cloistered themselves in the airport's emergency medical centre, from where they have a clear view of the damaged jet. Another batch of experts are expected. 

The British team turned down India's offer to relocate the F-35B to a more spacious hangar at the Air India section. "The F-35B is absolute frontline technology, the British will guard their high-end technology the way a tiger mom would guard her cubs. They are not going to let any Indians get anywhere close," the aviation expert said.

When the fighter jet would take off from Thiruvananthapuram is anybody's guess.