Photos From Old IAF Crashes Peddled As Indian Rafales Shot Down By Pakistan

Images of plane wreckage from old and unrelated accidents involving Indian Air Force jets are viral with a false claim that they are two Indian Rafale jets shot down by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) in a counter-strike to India’s Operation Sindoor.

BOOM found that both photos are old, dating back to two separate incidents involving IAF jets — a MiG-21 and a MiG-29 — that crashed in Punjab and Rajasthan in 2021 and 2024, respectively.

India launched a retaliatory military strike against Pakistan, in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in the early hours of May 7, 2025. Nicknamed Operation Sindoor the Indian Army in a press briefing said they targeted nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Unverified reports allege Pakistani forces shot down Indian jets in a retaliatory military strike, but no official confirmation has been issued as of publication of this story.

The two viral photos show plane wreckage and carry the logo of the Pakistani news channel ARY news with the caption claiming, "This picture will Embarass india for years to come! Picture of 2 indian Rafale that were shot down by Pakistan Air Force!"

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Factcheck: Viral Photos Unrelated to Operation Sindoor

BOOM found that both the viral photos are old and not related to Operation Sindoor in any manner.

We ran a reverse image search on the viral photos and found news reports from 2021 and 2024 carrying similar visuals to report on IAF jet crashes during routine sorties in Punjab and Rajasthan.

Photo 1: May 2021 MiG-21 Crash in Punjab

We traced the first photo back to a Times Of India report from May 21, 2021. According to the TOI report, MiG-21 fighter jet crashed in a field in Langeana Khurd village of Moga, Punjab, killing the pilot, Squadron Leader Abhinav Choudhary.

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Photo 2: September 2024 MiG-29 Crash in Rajasthan

We found the second photo shows wreckage of a IAF MiG-29 that crashed in Barmer, Rajasthan in September 2024. The report quoted officials as confirming that the pilot had ejected safely, adding no loss of life or property was reported.

The same image is visible in an Indian Express story about the accident.

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