Fact Check: Pakistani Air Force Did Not Shoot Down Indian Rafale, Old Video Viral With Fake Claim
Vishvas News found in its investigation that this video is from June 2024, when the Sukhoi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra.
- By: Pallavi Mishra
- Published: May 2, 2025 at 06:34 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). Amidst the escalated tension between India and Pakistan, a video showing flames and black smoke in a field is circulating on social media. While sharing the video, some Pakistani social media accounts are claiming that the Pakistani Air Force shot down the Indian Rafale fighter plane near Poonch sector. Some Indian users are also sharing the same video with the claim that the Indian Air Force has shot down the fighter plane of the Pakistani Air Force.
Vishvas News investigated and found all these claims to be fake. This video is from June 2024, when the Sukhoi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra.
What is viral?
X User ‘@stealthychad’ (Akram Patel) shared this video (archive link) and wrote “Rafale fighter jet shot down over Poonch sector by Pakistani HQ-9 Air Defence System.”
While sharing this video, a Facebook user named Zen Blend Hub wrote, “In a significant development, the Indian Air Force has reportedly shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet, delivering a strong message. This incident serves as a reality check, highlighting the IAF’s capabilities.”
Investigation
To investigate this claim, we began by searching for any credible reports of a fighter plane being shot down amidst the India-Pakistan tensions. Our keyword searches yielded no authentic information to support such an incident.
To verify the video, we searched its screenshots on Google reverse image search. We found this video uploaded on several social media accounts in June 2024, with descriptions indicating it shows the crash of a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter plane in Nashik.
In a social media post of ET Now on June 4, 2024, this video was posted, with the caption, “A Sukhoi fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra today. However, both the pilots ejected safely before the crash.”
Upon searching with keywords, we found several reports about this incident. According to a CNBC report dated June 4, 2024, “A Sukhoi fighter plane — Su-30 MKI — of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on Tuesday, police said. The pilot and co-pilot ejected safely and were taken to a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) hospital, Special Inspector General of Nashik Range DR Karale said .”
We contacted the PRO of the Indian Air Force regarding the video, who confirmed that the footage pertains to the incident that occurred on June 4, 2024 in Nashik, Maharashtra.
The Pakistani X account @stealthychad, which shared the viral video with a fake claim, is followed by more than 200 users.
Conclusion: Vishvas News found in its investigation that this video is from June 2024, when the Sukhoi fighter plane of the Indian Air Force crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra.
- Claim Review : The Rafale fighter jet was shot down by the Pakistani air defence system HQ-9 in the Poonch sector.
- Claimed By : X User ‘@stealthychad’
- Fact Check : False
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