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A British F-35B fighter jet that had been stranded at an Indian airport for more than a month and became the subject of numerous memes and cartoons on social media took off successfully on Tuesday after repairs were carried out by British engineers, an Indian official said.
The stealth fighter jet, one of the most advanced in the world and worth an estimated £85 million, was grounded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to technical problems.
A Thiruvananthapuram official, who is not authorized to speak to the media and wished to remain anonymous, said the plane had hydraulic and auxiliary power unit problems that were successfully resolved.
The plane will head to a British aircraft carrier based in Darwin, Australia, the official said.
The British High Commission and the UK Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.
In June, the aircraft was on another mission to the Arabian Sea when adverse weather conditions prevented it from returning to the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
The aircraft was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and landed safely on June 14.
A stranded Lockheed Martin military plane has become the source of AI-generated memes in India.
A social media post by the Kerala Tourism Department showed a plane on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees with a fictitious five-star review: “Kerala is such a wonderful place that you don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.”
A senior tourism department official, K. Biju, said the publication was in “good taste”.
“This was our way of expressing our appreciation and gratitude to the British, who are the main tourists visiting Kerala,” Mr. Biju said.
Another image posted on the X website shows the plane enjoying refreshments with a group of locals against a picturesque backdrop.
There have been suggestions in India that if the repairs fail, the aircraft could be partially dismantled and transported by cargo plane. The UK Ministry of Defence has denied these suggestions in a statement.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
