Introduction to the DD Newsletter
The DD Newsletter provides weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
UK Royal Air Force F-35B Emergency Diversion to Japan
A UK Royal Air Force F-35B stealth fighter was forced to make an emergency diversion to Japan due to an in-flight malfunction. The aircraft, from the Royal Navy carrier HMS Prince of Wales, landed at Kagoshima Airport in southwest Japan. No injuries to the pilot were reported, and although six flights in and out of Kagoshima were delayed, the airport was soon operating normally again. The F-35B was moved from the runway to a taxiway, and its exact location at the airfield is not currently known.
Technical Issues and Repairs
The UK Ministry of Defense offered no further detail about the nature of the technical issues affecting the aircraft now in Japan. However, it did say that it was completely unrelated to the fault encountered earlier in the cruise, which required a different F-35B to divert to an airfield in India. The aircraft in Japan has been assessed by Royal Navy and Royal Air Force engineers and is now awaiting spares, after which it will be repaired.
Operation Highmast and F-35B Deployments
The F-35B diversion comes during Operation Highmast, one of the highest-profile cruises for the type in British service. Under this operation, 18 British F-35Bs are embarked in the Prince of Wales, which has sailed to the Indo-Pacific region. The F-35B component comes from one Royal Air Force and one Royal Navy squadron, with at least one US Marine Corps F-35B boosting these numbers.
Exercise Hightower and Joint Exercises
While in the waters around Japan, the F-35Bs were involved in Exercise Hightower, alongside Japanese and South Korean assets. F-35Bs from the Prince of Wales also became the first British jets to operate from a Japanese naval vessel, when they conducted joint exercises with the Kaga, a helicopter carrier that has been adapted to be compatible with the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B.
Conclusion and Future Developments
The two F-35B diversions during Highmast are not extraordinary incidents, as precautionary emergency landings are often the safest option in carrier-based aircraft operations. However, given the turbulent history of the F-35 program and persistent questions about the future of the procurement of this aircraft in the United Kingdom, they are subject to additional scrutiny. It remains to be seen how long it will take for the required spare parts to arrive, but attention on Operation Highmast is likely to remain intense, with two aircraft now having been sidelined during the same cruise.