Month after being grounded in Kerala, British fighter jet flies to Australia

Greater than a month after it made an emergency touchdown and remained parked on the worldwide airport in Thiruvananthapuram, a British F-35B fighter jet flew again on Tuesday, 22 July, after finishing upkeep.

The jet, which took off at 10.50 am, flew to Darwin in Australia, in keeping with airport sources.

“A UK F-35B plane, which landed following an emergency diversion on June 14, departed right now from Thiruvananthapuram Worldwide Airport. A UK engineering workforce, deployed since July 06 accomplished the repairs and security checks, permitting the plane to renew energetic service,” a British Excessive Fee spokesperson mentioned on Tuesday.

The spokesperson mentioned the UK stays very grateful for the help and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport groups all through the restore and restoration course of. “We sit up for persevering with to strengthen our defence partnership with India,” the assertion mentioned.

Sources mentioned a 14-member workforce of engineers from the UK, who carried out repairs on the fighter jet, will depart on Wednesday aboard a particular plane, the Globemaster.