Parked quietly on the edge of a rain-soaked runway in Kerala, one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets has become an unlikely tourist attraction—and the subject of international curiosity. For nearly three weeks, the British F-35B stealth jet has remained grounded at Thiruvananthapuram airport, its sleek frame glinting under the monsoon skies, while questions swirl about how such a cutting-edge machine came to be stranded so far from home.
The jet had been flying over the Indian Ocean on June 14 when bad weather forced it to divert from its intended return to the HMS Prince of Wales, the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier. It landed safely in Kerala—but what was meant to be a brief detour has turned into an extended and embarrassing layover.
The state-of-the-art British fighter jet has sparked curiosity, online jokes, and questions about the preparedness of the Royal Navy.
Engineers from the Royal Navy have assessed the aircraft but have so far been unable to fix the issue. British officials said the aircraft would be shifted to a hangar once UK technicians arrive with specialist equipment.
"The aircraft will return to active service once repairs and safety checks have been completed," a BBC report quoted the British High Commission in Delhi as saying. "Ground teams continue to work closely with Indian authorities to ensure safety and security precautions are observed."
The jet, valued at $110 million (roughly Rs 900 crore), is being guarded 24/7 by six Royal Air Force officers. Airport officials said technicians from the UK were expected to arrive on Friday.
Sameer Patil, director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation, said the Royal Navy had two choices: "Either repair it and make it airworthy, or fly it out aboard a larger transport aircraft like the C-17 Globemaster."
The case of the stranded jet has also reached the UK parliament. On Monday, Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty raised concerns in the House of Commons over the delay, asking what steps were being taken to recover the aircraft and secure its classified technologies.
UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard responded that the aircraft remained under "close UK control" and praised India’s support: "We continue to work with our Indian friends who provided first-class support when the F-35B was unable to return to the carrier."
Meanwhile, the jet's unusual stay in Kerala has become fodder for jokes and memes. Social media users have dubbed it the "lonely F-35B", sharing AI-generated images of the fighter jet parked on a rain-soaked runway flanked by palm trees.
One viral post mockingly listed the jet for sale online at a bargain price of $4 million, claiming it came with "brand-new tyres, a new battery, automatic parking, and a gun to destroy traffic violators."
Kerala Tourism joined in with a tongue-in-cheek post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Kerala, the destination you’ll never want to leave,” alongside an AI-generated image of the jet. The caption joked that like most visitors to "God’s own country", the jet too was reluctant to leave.
Some users even joked that the aircraft had stayed long enough to qualify for Indian citizenship, while others suggested charging rent—preferably in the form of the Kohinoor diamond.
Patil warned that the longer the jet remains stranded, the more it could damage the image of the Royal Navy and the F-35 programme.
"Memes, jokes, rumours and conspiracy theories are feeding disinformation. It reflects poorly on a professional navy. The optics are bad,” he said. “If this had happened in hostile territory, would the response have taken this long?"
He questioned whether the Royal Navy had standard operating procedures for such situations, adding: "This is a worst-case scenario—an advanced fighter jet stranded on foreign soil."