F-35 Fighter Jet Stuck in Kerala: A $110M Grounded Mystery - First Sun News | Popular News in Geopolitics

How a State-of-the-Art Stealth Jet Became Stuck at Kerala’s Most Expensive Tourist Attraction

It was meant to be a symbol of air superiority in the 21st century. It turned out to be Kerala’s costliest tourist destination. I am referring to the F-35 fighter jet, the one that arrived at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.

It arrived on the 14th of June. Eighteen days after that, it is still here—and it’s the target of jokes on the internet. Kerala Tourism is making the jet a marketing strategy. Memes took to social media, like, of course, the plane itself has not.

How Did This Specific F-35 End Up in Kerala?

Why is it still stuck? And what does it say about this state-of-the-art war machine?

Our tale begins on June 14th. As I indicated, there was a British aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea—the HMS Prince of Wales. It was performing normal naval exercises. The F-35 aircraft was among those used for a practice drill.

It had departed at about 8:50 p.m. local time. Within 30 minutes, the weather had turned bad. The plane had run out of fuel. It could not return to the aircraft carrier. Therefore, it sent out a distress call.

It’s called the Thiruvananthapuram Airport. India approved it, and in no time, the jet landed in Kerala around 9:30 p.m.

Grounded in God’s Own Country

But once on the ground, it faced some additional problems. This was less Top Gun and more Top Gear.

On the same night, a crew flew out to India. They attempted to check what was wrong but they couldn’t resolve it. So for days, this $110 million plane sat in the rain and sun.

India tried to give the jet some hangar space, but Britain said no. This was, after all, their top-of-the-line stealth machine. They were afraid of spying — of showing cutting-edge technology. So they chose to leave it on the bay in plain sight for the rest of the world to look at.

40 People, No Fix

Then, a few days back, a whole team arrived to check what was amiss. This was a team of 40 individuals—40 individuals to determine why a $110 million aircraft won’t take to the skies.

And they were unable to do so.

Now, the UK government tells us that the aircraft is irreparable. Essentially, it can’t be repaired. So, London is contemplating a Hail Mary—flying the plane out of India on a C-17 Globemaster.

That would involve summoning a C-17 Globemaster. And this would not be something that countries do lightly. Sneaking a fighter jet-like freight around is not a flex. But London doesn’t have a choice. They’re citing it as an engineering problem—classic British euphemism.

So, What’s Actually Wrong?

But the experts have their theories. They think it’s probably an issue with the hydraulic system. Either way, the team can’t fix it because the F-35 is not a regular jet. We’re talking about a very complicated machine—a fifth-generation stealth fighter, one of the most advanced jets in the world.

The F-35 was built by America’s defense giant, Lockheed Martin. The jet currently stranded in Kerala is the F-35B variant. It is specifically designed for short takeoffs. That makes it perfect for aircraft carriers and tight runways.

A PR Nightmare?

The US has exported the F-35 aircraft to many of its allies, and it didn’t come cheap. Each jet would cost approximately $110 million, but that comes with its own set of hassles. There have been reliability issues and maintenance problems.

And the timing of this Kerala tale couldn’t have been worse for the Americans. The US is extremely interested in selling the F-35 to India. But you can’t make a billion-dollar pitch on a stranded plane.

To make it even worse, the Indian Air Force chimed in with an interesting fact. They stated that their radar system had “picked up” the F-35. And this fact is incredibly significant.

Is Stealth Just a State of Mind?

Stealth is the F-35’s greatest selling point. It is not supposed to be detected. It is a stealth jet. But India says it knew the F-35 was in the airspace.

So, is stealth just a state of mind then?

Either way, here we are. An invisible jet that cannot fly home is more on the screen than ever. It has all the gadgets—except apparently the one for it to fly back home.

Yes, this is Mission Impossible: The Grounded Edition. And even Tom Cruise cannot rescue this one.