RAF jets intercept Theresa May's plane in training exercise

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The British military has received support from their American counterparts in the search to recover a F35B Lightning II, the Times reports. Navy sources told the broadsheet: “A number of nations have the capability to recover an aircraft from that depth.

“We’ve asked the Americans for help and they have offered.”

An investigation to recover the aircraft was launched on Wednesday after the pilot ejected from the F35 jet at around 10am.

The aircraft, which is believed to cost £120million and can travel up to 1,200mph, is equipped with highly sensitive radars and sensors.

Reports suggest the jet is more than a mile below the surface.

The process itself is supposedly “not rocket science”.

But a Royal Navy source told the Times the “problem is finding and getting to it – you need a machine that can get to that depth”.

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They added: “We know the vicinity but we need to find it and attach floating devices to it.”

The Ministry of Defence also released an update regarding the pilot’s whereabouts.

Posted to Twitter on Wednesday, it read: “A British F35 pilot from HMS Queen Elizabeth ejected during routine flying operations in the Mediterranean this morning.

“The pilot has been safely returned to the ship and an investigation has begun, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

There are supposedly some concerns the Russians could be in the hunt for the wreckage.

The Times’ navy source said it “would be foolish not to be watching the area”.

However, they also highlighted Russian equipment capable of retrieving the jet from such a depth was not in the area.

An RAF source said: “I’m sure the Russians would love to get their hands on a F-35.

“In terms of the practicalities of doing it, the logistics of it would be the same as it is for us.”

But they went on to claim it would be “unrealistic” for Moscow to push ahead with such a move as it could spark a diplomatic incident.

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Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, 51, added: “It is not a secret the Russians have been very interested in the carrier group both on the way out from the United Kingdom – as she’s sailed and her group towards the Pacific – and now she is back in the Mediterranean.

“Of course the Russians are playing close attention – it is what I’d expect.

“It is what we do to their ships. We keep an eye on each other that’s also how we hopefully make sure we avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations.”

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