The fog of war is alive as well in the aerial clash between India and Pakistan, with nebulous imagery swamping social media, exacerbated by limited comments from authorities.
As India and Pakistan continue to skirmish following New Delhi’s raid on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan on the night of 6-7 May, a shadow war rages on social media, fueled by nationalism and an obsessive interest in Indian and Pakistan combat aircraft and weapons.
India confirmed the strikes but provided few details, insisting that it had not hit military targets, but only militant targets in response to a 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir. Media reports indicated that the Indian air force’s premier fighter, the Dassault Aviation Rafale, hit targets deep within Pakistan with MBDA SCALP-EG cruise missiles.
Dubious reports soon appeared on social media apparently quoting Pakistani officials. They maintained that Pakistan air force combat aircraft employing long-range air-to-air missiles – specifically the much-hyped PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) – had downed five Indian jets.
The reports emerged suspiciously quickly. With uncanny detail they claimed that three Rafales, one RAC MiG-29, and one Sukhoi Su-30MKI had been downed.
CNN, citing a Pakistani official, painted a picture of a dramatic 1h beyond-visual-range air battle with around 125 fighters, with BVRAAMs flying back and forth across the border.
Reuters stoked the drama, quoting two US officials as stating that a Chinese-built Pakistani fighter had shot down two Indian aircraft. One of the officials said the Pakistani fighter was a Chengdu J-10C, an advanced version of the single-engined fighter known to carry the PL-15.
None of this has recieved official confirmation.
At some point images emerged that purport to show a downed Rafale, including what appears to be the wreckage of a Safran M88 engine lying in a field. Some media outlets jumped on this as proof that the Rafale had suffered its first confirmed loss.
Among the images is one of the tail, conveniently showing the aircraft’s number: BS 001, a known Indian aircraft.
The tail images, however, appear to have some slight – but perhaps critical – discrepancies.
First, on Indian air force Rafales the word ‘Rafale’ is printed in plain font at the top of the rudder. On the tail lying in the field, the text appears to be in italics.
There is another discrepancy, also with the rudder. On pictures of known Indian Rafales, a vertical seam line intersects the top of the rudder at an angle. On the rudder in the field, this vertical seam appears to intersect the top of the rudder at a right angle.
Although slight, these details raise questions about the images’ authenticity.
Compounding the lack of clarity is virtual silence from India’s government, which has neither confirmed nor denied any shootdowns.
India’s febrile media, quick to trumpet India’s prowess in striking Pakistan, has barely reported the shootdown story.
Given that confirming the loss of one or more fighters – and the Rafale, no less – would be a major scoop for any Indian reporter, it is curious that a story, quoting defence ministry sources, has not emerged about the shootdowns.
One possibility for this is that the government of prime minister Narendra Modi has muzzled the Indian media on this topic. Modi, ever sensitive to his image, has exerted increasing pressure over Indian news outlets in recent years. News that India’s air force suffered embarassing losses will not be welcome.
If the conflict between India and Pakistan escalates then more claims and counterclaims are certain to emerge, with governments stoking the flames of a combustible social media environment.
