Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, Iran’s state media claims its air defence has shot down three Israeli F‑35 stealth fighters over western Iran—reportedly capturing at least one pilot—though Israel has strongly denied any losses.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media, in which a fighter jet is seen being downed.
Social media users are sharing the video with a caption suggesting that the video is of Israel’s F-35 being downed by Iran.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Israel F-35 fighter jet was chased and taken down byan Iranian old generation jet before leaving Iranian territory. Does anyone think that if an American were flying the same plane that they wouldn’t suffer the same fate? It’s not patriotism to die for a foreign state. (sic)”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. We found that the viral video is of a Russian SU-25 being shot down by friendly fire.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a YouTube channel on June 13, with a caption suggesting that the video was of a Russian Su-25 hitting its own wingman Su-25 with unguided rockets, causing the Su-25’s wing to fall off and the aircraft to crash in Donetsk.
Another YouTube news channel of Azerbaijan also shared the same video on June 13. The video was shared with a description that reads, “A Russian Air Force Su-25 fighter jet shot down another Russian Su-25 in the occupied city of Soledar in eastern Donetsk region. The footage was shared on Telegram channels. As can be seen from the footage, fire from one of the planes flying nearby resulted in the other plane exploding in the air. Russian sources said that the plane was not shot down by friendly fire, but rather crashed due to a technical malfunction or pilot error. The pilot of the crashed plane is said to have been injured.”
We further found that the video was also shared by a website, Trench Art, on June 14. The report suggests that a Russian Su‑25 mistakenly downed its own wingman mid-air during a low‑level rocket attack over Ukraine’s front line, causing the second jet’s wing to break—reportedly due to metal fatigue and high structural stress.
Thus, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.