Fact Check: Pak challenges India to aircraft count after Air Chief’s statement? No, here are the facts
It is being claimed that Pakistan released images showing its fleet of military aircraft intact and challenged India to do the same.
By Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:After the Air Chief Marshal claimed that India shot down six Pakistani Air Force aircraft during Operation Sindoor, Pakistan released images showing its fleet of military aircraft intact and challenged India to do the same.
Fact:The claim is false. All three images are old.
Hyderabad: In a first revelation on the extent of damage inflicted by India during Operation Sindoor, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh revealed that six Pakistani aircraft—five fighter jets and one large aircraft—were downed. Singh credited the S-400 air defence system for the aerial kills.
Meanwhile, Pakistani social media accounts are sharing a collage of three images showing different fighter jets. The accounts claim that Pakistan is opening its aircraft inventory for counting and display, daring India to do the same after the Air Chief’s declaration.
“After India’s claim of shooting down 6 Pakistani jets, Pakistan has opened its inventory for counting. Your turn, India, care to match? #IndianAirForce #PakistanNavy #PakistanAirForce #IndiaPakistanWar,” wrote an X user who shared the images. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The images are old, and there has been no display of aircraft or challenge issued by Pakistan to India after the Air Chief’s statement.
Image 1
A reverse image search led us to the same image published in a report by a Chinese website on March 18, 2022.
According to the report, the induction of the Chinese J-10C fighter jets into the Pakistan Air Force marked a major breakthrough in China’s export of high-end military aircraft.
We also found that it was reported by the Indian media (links here and here) on March 11, 2022, that Pakistan inducted an unspecified number of J-10C multi-role fighter jets, acquired from China, into its air force to strengthen the country’s combat capabilities.
Image 2
The reverse image of the second image led us to a report by Aeroflap published on January 6, 2022.
According to the report, the image featured the first look of Pakistan’s newly produced JF-17C Block III fighter jets, built at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and publicly displayed at the 2025 Royal International Air Tattoo in the UK.
The report stated that the JF-17 fighter jet is a joint venture between Pakistan and China, with the manufacturing split such that Pakistan is responsible for 58 per cent of the airframe production and China manufactures the remaining 42 per cent.
Image 3
We traced the third image using a reverse image search and found it published by China Times in 2015 in a report that analysed the United States’ potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, a move interpreted as an effort to counter Chinese political and military influence in South Asia. However, the report did not explicitly name the aircraft visible in the image. Also, we found the same photograph in an April 29, 2011, post on an online forum about Pakistan’s defence.
Did Pakistan challenge India to an aircraft count?
We also ran a keyword search on PAF, sharing images of its fighter jets and challenging India to a count of the aircraft in their respective fleets following the IAF chief’s statement. However, we found no credible reports.
Therefore, we conclude that the images are old and the claim is false.
