The British Royal Navy’s F-35 fighter jet, which has been stranded at Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram International Airport for around 20 days, is likely to be airlifted back to the United Kingdom – but not before becoming a full-blown meme icon complete with its own ‘Aadhaar card’.

While F-35 memes and jokes have been doing the rounds on the internet ever since June 14, a fresh wave of internet humour has surfaced as news of its return plans emerged.

From Bollywood punchlines to dubbed dialogue edits and funny videos, the F-35 has become social media’s favourite “tourist” overstaying its welcome.

One viral post imagining the F-35 as an Indian citizen, with a digitally-generated Aadhaar card that includes its photo, has won the internet.

“If that F-35 plane was parked in Gurgaon for this long, someone would have opened a restaurant inside it,” is another popular opinion.

Take a look at some more F-35 memes and jokes here:

Earlier this week, Kerala Tourism also joined the F-35 meme fest with this post.

The F-35B, part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, was conducting operations 100 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala when adverse weather and low fuel forced an emergency diversion to Thiruvananthapuram. The Indian Air Force facilitated the safe landing and provided refuelling and logistical assistance.

Despite several failed attempts to get the fighter jet airworthy, the British Royal Navy’s F-35 is now likely to be flown back to the United Kingdom aboard a heavy-lift cargo aircraft after being partially dismantled. A 40-member team from the UK – including technical specialists and a tow vehicle – is expected to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5 to carry out the recovery operation.

– Ends