Although modern aircraft feature advanced protection systems against aerial threats, an unpredictable hazard like a bird strike continues to pose a risk
An unexpected incident during a joint French-British military exercise brought a lesser-known but very real danger to modern fighter jets back into the spotlight. A French Rafale Marine was forced to make an emergency landing in the UK after colliding with a bird over the English Channel, causing issues with one of its two engines. Operating from Landivisiau Naval Air Base, the jet diverted to Exeter Airport, which had been designated as the nearest suitable diversion airfield in case of an emergency. The incident highlights the specific hazards bird strikes pose even to state-of-the-art combat aircraft, while carrying particular relevance for Greece, whose Air Force operates 24 Rafale jets.
What happened
A French Rafale M fighter jet made a forced landing at Exeter Airport in Britain after encountering engine trouble. The Rafale-M (Marine) is the carrier-capable variant of the Rafale designed for naval operations, equipped for catapult launches and arrested landings, as seen on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. It features a reinforced airframe and landing gear, an arrestor hook, and marinized avionics, while retaining the twin Snecma M88 engines of the land-based Rafale, its canard-delta wing configuration, RBE2 AESA radar, and SPECTRA electronic warfare suite. The aircraft can carry a combination of Meteor and MICA air-to-air missiles, SCALP cruise missiles, Exocet anti-ship missiles, and, in French service, the ASMP-A nuclear missile, enabling a single fleet to execute both fleet air defense and long-range strike missions. Exeter Airport confirmed that a French Rafale requested permission to land after reporting a technical fault. An airport spokesperson stated: "A French Navy Rafale fighter jet requested to land on Tuesday afternoon after reporting an issue with one of its two engines while over the English Channel. Emergency procedures were activated as a precaution, involving our on-site teams and external agencies, who were stood down once the aircraft landed safely without incident. The jet is awaiting a technical inspection by engineers."
Operating from Landivisiau Naval Air Base, the Rafale-M was participating in joint military exercises with the UK when the bird strike occurred. The pilot sought to land the aircraft "as soon as possible." A French military spokesperson said: "On Tuesday, September 22, during a joint training exercise with British armed forces, a Rafale Marine fighter jet from Landivisiau Naval Air Base was involved in a bird strike incident. In such situations, standard procedure dictates that the aircraft must land as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the pilot and the airframe. The diversion airfield, which was the closest at the moment of impact and pre-identified, was Exeter in the UK, where the Rafale Marine landed a few minutes later. A security team from Landivisiau Naval Air Base was dispatched immediately to the UK to provide round-the-clock protection for the aircraft. A team of technicians traveled to Exeter in the morning to inspect the integrity of the aircraft before it can fly again and return to Landivisiau. The technical team's investigation is ongoing."
Bird strikes threaten fighter jets as well
Although modern aircraft feature advanced protection systems against aerial threats, an unpredictable hazard like a bird strike continues to pose a risk to aircraft across the globe. Mid-air collisions are often unavoidable given the speed at which military aircraft operate. In such incidents, birds can shatter the canopy, potentially injuring the pilot, compromising visibility or flight controls, and elevating the risk of losing the aircraft. As demonstrated in the Rafale case, aircraft can experience engine malfunctions or even total power loss. When a bird enters an engine, it can inflict severe damage on the primary compressor rotor.
This damage can cause severe vibration and ultimately lead to a significant loss of thrust. Furthermore, bird strikes during takeoff or landing can damage the extended landing gear, potentially disabling the brakes or nose-wheel steering systems. Such damage can create severe difficulties in maintaining directional control during the landing roll. Fighter aircraft equipped with high-bypass turbofan engines are designed to ingest birds up to a certain size without sustaining catastrophic damage, and they feature reinforced windshields that can withstand impacts at lower speeds. However, even the most advanced engines have a maximum weight limit they can ingest before suffering catastrophic power failure. For instance, a bird struck a Tatmadaw fighter jet—belonging to the Myanmar Armed Forces Air Force—during a training flight near Yangon, causing the aircraft to crash.
According to reports, the bird entered the engine, triggering a fire that led to the crash. A Malaysian F/A-18 Hornet reportedly crashed on the runway at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport in Kuantan during takeoff after its engine caught fire on the night of August 21, 2025. A subsequent investigation confirmed that the cause of the accident was a bird strike. A Royal Air Force F-35 Lightning II struck a bird over North Wales in January 2025, causing damage to the front section of the aircraft and forcing the fighter to return to base. In another incident, a pilot of a USMC F-35B was forced to land the aircraft after colliding with a bird shortly after takeoff from Kunsan Air Base in South Korea in April 2024. During a low-altitude flight in January 2022, an eagle damaged the left air intake of a South Korean F-35A Lightning II, damaging a hydraulic line, power cables, and a bulkhead inside the weapons bay. This compromised navigation and landing gear systems, forcing the aircraft to perform a belly landing. Although the pilot was uninjured, the aircraft suffered extensive damage and was ultimately retired, as repair costs were deemed unviable, according to prior reports by EurAsian Times. The fundamental vulnerability of aircraft operating in shared airspace with birds is expected to persist into the future, despite ongoing advancements in aviation technology.
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