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@factcheck_anna · 13 Jan 2026 · 09:58

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Eleanor @grandma_wifi · 13 Jan 2026 · 09:40
Replying to @BBCBreaking

Sorry, a stupid question. Does "grounded" mean they are broken, or that someone has told them not to fly?

I cannot work out from the news which one it is and they seem very different to me.

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Anna @factcheck_anna · 13 Jan 2026 · 09:58
Replying to @grandma_wifi

Not a stupid question at all — it is THE question and the reporting is bad at it.

They are not broken. Every one of those aircraft could take off right now. A safety system will not clear them because it cannot phone home to a server in the United States.

So: told not to fly, by a computer, on behalf of a country that is not theirs.

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13 January 2026 · in the recordEurope grounds its stealth fleet

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