Desk: An Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom has landed at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in Kerala on Sunday (July 6). A team of 24 people from the United Kingdom has come in this aircraft, who will investigate the British F-35B Fighter Jet that made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram Airport in India last month. The F-35B fighter jet of the Royal Air Force has been grounded for the last three years.

The 24-member team from Britain includes 14 technical experts and 10 crew members from the British Royal Air Force. This team will examine the grounded fighter jet to determine whether it can be repaired locally or it will have to be dismantled and sent back to the UK. According to the report, the Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft that arrived in Thiruvananthapuram from Britain will take off for its return at around 3:30 pm Indian time. However, the team of British experts who came by the plane will stay in Kerala to examine and repair the F-35B fighter jet.

The arrival of a team of Royal Air Force experts from Britain in India indicates that Britain has not yet made any plans to airlift the grounded F-35B fighter jet from India. However, the British Air Force’s A400 aircraft is larger in size than the C-130 Hercules, but smaller than the C-17 Globemaster. In such a situation, even if the F-35B is given disassembled, the A400 aircraft is not capable of carrying it.

If Britain has to airlift its fighter jet back through a plane, then it will have to send a C-17 plane to India. Meanwhile, experts from the UK can try to repair the hydraulic system of the F-35B fighter jet and will also try to fly this fighter jet back.

Meanwhile, the British High Commission spokesperson has issued an official statement on Sunday (July 6, 2025). The spokesperson said, “A UK engineering team has been deployed at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to inspect and repair the UK F-35B fighter jet that made an emergency landing.”