PIB Debunks Fake News On Forged Letter About Tejas Jets Shared By Pakistani Propaganda Accounts

New Delhi: A letter claiming to be signed by India’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, is circulating on social media. The letter claims that the Indian Air Force plans to abandon the Tejas fighter jets. However, PIB’s fact-checking unit has examined the posts and confirmed that the letter is fake. The posts are being circulated by Pakistani propaganda social-media handles.

PIB also stated that the IAF has issued no such statement and urged citizens to avoid sharing unverified information and rely only on official sources.

The fake letter comes just two days after a Tejas fighter jet of the IAF crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. Wing Commander Namnash Syal was killed in the crash.

Earlier on Thursday, posts surfaced on social media claiming that the Indian LCA Tejas Mk1 suffered an oil leakage during one of its flights. However, the fact check Unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) termed all these claims as “fake” and “baseless propaganda.”

The PIB Fact Check stated that the videos of LCA Tejas carrying out its flight show routine, intentional draining of condensed water from the aircraft's Environmental Control System (ECS) and On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS). It further added that this is a standard procedure for aircraft operating in humid conditions, like those in Dubai.

Second Tejas Crash

This is the second time that a Tejas fighter jet has crashed. Earlier in March last year, a Tejas fighter had crashed in a compound of a student hostel in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer during a training sortie. At that time, the pilot had ejected safely.