A British F-35B Lightning from HMS Prince of Wales has diverted into Kagoshima Airport, Japan, with an apparent technical issue. The aircraft landed safely and was moved to an adjoining taxiway.
NHK News confirmed via Kagoshima Airport Office that the Royal Air Force fighter aircraft landed at the airport at around 11:30am local time on Aug. 10, 2025. Imagery shows the aircraft visibly intact, and the pilot was confirmed as unharmed. The airport was closed for around 20 minutes to allow for the aircraft to be moved from the runway onto a taxiway, allowing normal commercial air traffic to resume operations with minor delays.
Air traffic control at Kagoshima was contacted in advance by the aircraft’s pilot, who informed them of the technical issue and their intent to divert to the airfield. The emergency landing comes only a few weeks after an F-35B from the same aircraft carrier finally departed from India after being stranded there with a technical issue for over a month.
Around 1100 local time this morning, a UK F-35 from @HMSPWLS made an emergency diversion to 🇯🇵Kagoshima Airport as a precaution following in-flight defect#CSG25 https://t.co/VG84q4KCbH
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) August 10, 2025
18 British F-35B aircraft are currently deployed to the region with the Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on the CSG 25 deployment, codenamed Operation Highmast. The aircraft carrier arrived in waters close to Japan in recent days following an excursion to Australia, where the group took part in Exercise Talisman Sabre. Since its arrival, jets from the CSG have made history by becoming the first British jets in history to land on a Japanese naval vessel – the Kaga – in a joint exercise with the U.S. and Japan that demonstrated the interoperability of the F-35B platform. Japan is now receiving the first of its own F-35B order, which will operate from the Kaga and from sister ship Izumo.
While this diversion is sure to spur intensive mainstream media attention much like the previous one in India, it should be noted that mechanical issues with frontline military aircraft do occur, and with the value of these aircraft any small indication of a malfunction during peacetime often justifies an emergency landing as a precaution. Aircraft from U.S. carrier groups also suffer these technical faults on a routine basis, occasionally resulting in diversions to nearby airfields if available as an option.
The recovery of this aircraft, depending on the exact fault discovered – if any – is likely to be a simpler affair than the jet that was stranded in India. The CSG is expected to remain in the vicinity of Japan for a while longer, and repair crews, equipment, and spare parts, can be easily shipped either from the carrier group itself or potentially from Allied stocks in the region. MCAS Iwakuni, a major base for U.S. F-35Bs, is located only a short flight away.
Kagoshima is the second busiest airport on the Japanese island of Kyushu, serving a number of domestic and short-haul international commercial routes. The airport has a single 3,000 metre runway. It is located around 30 kilometres from the city of Kagoshima, close to the smaller Kirishima city.
This is an emerging story which will be updated if and when new information becomes available.
