World’s Most Advanced Jet F-35 Stranded in Kerala—Why the UK Refused India’s Help to Fix It

Twenty days ago, a British Navy F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing in Thiruvananthapuram. This aircraft is considered the world’s most modern fighter jet. One of its unique features is that it can evade radar detection. It has mastery in targeting from air, land, and sea. Despite all these capabilities, some flaws have proven to be overwhelming, and even after several attempts, efforts to repair it have failed. Thus, the king of the skies now stands grounded and helpless in Kerala. There is now talk that it may be returned home in parts.

This raises a rather simple question—say you’re driving from Noida to Lucknow and your car breaks down somewhere around Agra on the expressway. Would you call a mechanic all the way from Noida, or would you try to fix it with help available on the expressway?

If you choose to call the mechanic from Noida, it means your car has something sensitive in it—because the priority should be getting the car repaired and reaching Lucknow. In India, you can find many skilled people along the way capable of fixing anything. But if your car can’t be fixed and you decide to leave it there, go back to Noida, bring a mechanic, and still can’t fix it—so now you cut it up and carry it in pieces—people won’t just laugh, they’ll be genuinely surprised.

This is exactly the kind of situation happening with the British Navy’s F-35 fighter jet stranded in Thiruvananthapuram.

Why Was India Not Allowed to Repair It?

The direct answer: technological secrecy. The F-35, built in the U.S., contains technology that is extremely sensitive for America and its allied nations. The concern is that if India were allowed to repair it, sensitive technical data might be leaked. Moreover, India has the capability to manufacture an aircraft at a lower cost than what the F-35 currently sells for.

The U.S. wants all maintenance, upgrades, and major repairs to be done only in authorized locations under its control. The UK follows this same policy.

F-35: One of the World’s Most Advanced Stealth Fighter Jets

The F-35 incorporates stealth technology, sensor fusion, electronic warfare systems, and special composite materials. The U.S. and UK fear that if India were to open up this aircraft for repair, it could gain access to these sensitive technologies.

Fear of Code Security Leaks?

The F-35 operates on encrypted systems and software code. America and Britain fear that in the process of fixing the jet, India might gain access to its software, putting the security of the code at risk. This leads to the next concern—international protocols and supply chain control.

Supply Chain and Control Logic

It is a pre-established policy that in any country, if the F-35 encounters a fault, it can only be repaired at authorized maintenance facilities or by special U.S./British technical teams. This is called supply chain and control logic.

Now you can understand why we earlier gave the car analogy—this is a similar case. That is precisely why the UK and the U.S. do not want the F-35 to be repaired with India’s help.