An F-35 fighter jet performs during the annual Wings Over Houston Airshow at the Ellington Airport, state of Texas, the United States, Oct. 19, 2019. The annual airshow kicked off at the Ellington Airport Saturday, with aerial performances and displays. Photo:Xinhua

A UK aircraft carrier-based F-35B stealth fighter jet reportedly made an emergency landing in Japan on Sunday due to a malfunction during a joint drill with countries including Japan and the US, marking at least the second such incident, following an F-35B from the UK carrier being stranded in India for more than a month for repairs in June. 

A Chinese expert said that the malfunctions underscored the F-35B's overly complex systems and highly demanding maintainability, which the UK sailors could be struggling to deal with in far seas deployments.

A British F-35 stealth fighter jet made an emergency landing Sunday at Kagoshima airport in southwestern Japan due to a malfunction, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Sunday, citing airport officials.

The accident happened while the British forces have been conducting a joint drill with Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force and US forces from August 4 through next Tuesday, having dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the Western Pacific, according to Kyodo News.

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday, citing the Japanese Defense Ministry, the aircraft that landed at Kagoshima airport was a malfunctioning F-35B stealth fighter jet from the UK aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. 

The UK aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been on what UK media described "a major deployment" since April, visiting countries across the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia while taking part in exercises aimed at "demonstrating the UK's ability to operate fast jets at sea," BBC reported when the carrier departed from Portsmouth. 

However, the carrier's tour to the other side of the world has been marred by technical issues.

Prior to the latest F-35B malfunction that led to its emergency landing in Japan, an incident occurred on June 14 when an F-35B from the same carrier landed in India after it was diverted due to bad weather during a sortie in the Indian Ocean. It then developed a technical snag, according to another BBC report.

The state-of-the-art British fighter jet that became a subject of jokes and memes after being stranded at an Indian airport for more than five weeks. Its prolonged presence on Indian soil sparked curiosity and raised questions about how such a modern aircraft could remain stranded in a foreign country for so long, BBC said. After repairs, the aircraft finally became airborne and headed to Darwin in Australia, according to the report.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Sunday that the F-35B is the most technically complex variant in the F-35 family due to its short takeoff and vertical landing capability, posing significant maintenance challenges. The UK military could be struggling to provide adequate maintenance support for the US-made jets during extended carrier operations so far away from home. 

The UK's aircraft carrier deployments, to some degree, are following the US' global strategy, including its reliance on US-made equipment. From a technical point of view, the operational capabilities of the UK's navy are no longer what they once were, and the recent malfunction incidents should serve an opportunity for the UK to reconsider its policy of accommodating US interests, Wang said.