A little over two weeks after its emergency landing at India’s Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, one of the F-35B stealth fighters from the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales remains stranded due to technical issues, currently grounded under constant watch by Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel. Specifically, this aircraft was part of the so-called Operation Highmast, in which a strike group led by the aforementioned ship is conducting high-profile exercises alongside the United Kingdom’s international partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
The situation has already raised some concerns in the British Parliament, especially through Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who, during a June 30 session, addressed questions regarding the security of the aircraft while in storage to the Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard. In response, the minister stated: “We continue to work alongside our Indian allies, who provided exceptional support when the F-35B was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales during a flight mission (…) I am confident that the aircraft’s security is in good hands, as the Royal Air Force crew is with it at all times.”
It is worth recalling that the F-35B in question, belonging to the Royal Navy’s No. 617 Squadron, was forced to land on Indian soil on June 14 due to a technical malfunction. The situation worsened as adverse weather conditions prevented it from returning to the flagship of the deployed strike group. Since then, logistics support teams and engineers have arrived to assess the aircraft’s condition and work toward recovery, although no official details have yet been released regarding the defect that grounded it. It also remains unclear when it will return to the carrier.
For the time being, the deployment of HMS Prince of Wales under Operation Highmast continues, as the vessel recently departed from Singapore to proceed with its scheduled activities following a multi-day visit to Marina Bay port. Its escort group—composed of the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, the Tide-class replenishment ship RFA Tidespring, the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen, and the New Zealand Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha—was also observed during this port call, as well as in visits to neighboring nations. This includes the frigate HMS Richmond, the Spanish Álvaro de Bazán-class Méndez Núñez, and the Canadian Halifax-class HMCS Ville de Québec, which are also part of the same deployment.
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