Tokyo, August 11 - On August 10, 2025, a British F-35B Lightning II fighter jet, assigned to the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales, was forced to make an emergency landing at Kagoshima Airport in southwestern Japan due to a suspected technical malfunction. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. local time, when the pilot reported an issue during a routine sortie and requested priority clearance from air traffic control. The aircraft, part of the United Kingdom’s Carrier Strike Group 25 (CSG25) under Operation Highmast, landed safely, with no injuries reported and no visible damage to the jet. The event caused a temporary closure of the airport’s runway for approximately 20 minutes while ground crews moved the aircraft to a taxiway for preliminary inspections, resulting in minor delays for six commercial flights. Normal airport operations resumed shortly afterward.
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The F-35B involved in the incident is one of 18 stealth fighters deployed with HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier and current fleet flagship. The carrier strike group is currently engaged in a high-profile deployment in the Indo-Pacific region, conducting joint military exercises with Japan and the United States to enhance interoperability and demonstrate Britain’s commitment to security in the area. These drills, which began on August 4 and are scheduled to continue until August 12, include naval maneuvers and air missions. Notably, the deployment recently marked a historic milestone when British F-35Bs became the first UK jets to land on the Japanese carrier JS Kaga, showcasing the compatibility of the F-35B platform across allied forces.
This emergency landing marks the second such incident involving a British F-35B from HMS Prince of Wales in less than two months. On June 14, 2025, another F-35B from the same carrier strike group was forced to divert to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala, India, due to adverse weather conditions over the Indian Ocean and low fuel levels, compounded by a hydraulic system failure that affected the aircraft’s landing gear, brakes, and control surfaces. That jet remained grounded for 37 days, requiring extensive repairs by British engineers with support from Indian authorities before it could depart on July 22. The British High Commission expressed gratitude for India’s assistance during the recovery process.
The F-35B Lightning II, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is a fifth-generation stealth fighter designed for short take-off and vertical landing, making it ideal for operations from aircraft carriers like HMS Prince of Wales. The United Kingdom currently operates 37 of these advanced jets, shared between the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, with plans to have 47 in service by the end of 2025. Despite its cutting-edge technology, the F-35 program has faced scrutiny for reliability and maintenance challenges. A 2024 Pentagon report noted that the overall reliability, maintainability, and availability of the U.S. F-35 fleet fell below service expectations, a concern that may resonate with this recent incident. The jet at Kagoshima is undergoing inspections, with expectations that it will rejoin the carrier strike group once cleared. The proximity of allied facilities, such as the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, may facilitate swift repairs, potentially avoiding the prolonged grounding experienced in India. The Royal Navy has emphasized that precautionary landings are standard protocol to ensure pilot safety and equipment preservation, particularly for high-value assets like the F-35B, which is priced at approximately £88 million per unit. As the Carrier Strike Group continues its Indo-Pacific mission, the focus remains on maintaining operational readiness and deepening defense partnerships with allies like Japan, which recently received its first three F-35Bs for deployment on its own carriers, JS Kaga and JS Izumo.
