High-profile Indo-Pacific deployment hit by fresh technical setback

A British F-35B Lightning II fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan on Sunday after suffering an in-flight malfunction during operations from HMS Prince of Wales.

The £88m stealth aircraft diverted to Kagoshima International Airport at 11:30am local time, prompting a 20-minute runway closure. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the jet is undergoing inspections before rejoining the UK Carrier Strike Group.

It comes just weeks after another F-35B from the same task force was stranded in India for over a month with a suspected hydraulic fault.

The US-built fifth-generation warplane is billed as the most advanced of its kind, but has been plagued by persistent reliability issues. Britain operates 37 of the aircraft, with 47 due by the end of 2025, alongside planned purchases of the nuclear-capable F-35A.