New Delhi: In the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strikes against Pakistan, Islamabad has attempted to project a narrative of victory. However, these claims have been decisively debunked by leading Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) imagery analyst Damien Symon, who exposed the use of pre-conflict photographs to falsely claim successful attacks on Indian military installations.
Pakistan claimed a direct hit on India’s Adampur air base in Punjab, alleging damage to a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet. Symon, in a post on X, revealed that the image used to substantiate this claim, purportedly showing a jet near a burn mark, was taken in March 2025, well before Operation Sindoor commenced in May.
An image is being circulated now as a Pakistan destroyed S-400 radar in India, a review however indicates it’s likely just oil stains at Bhuj military base’s vehicle service yard, also the image predates the recent Indo-Pak conflict as it was taken in February 2025 pic.twitter.com/Y850jfk4n9
— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) June 6, 2025
His analysis revealed that the image depicted a MiG-29 undergoing routine maintenance, and the dark soot near the engine test pad was attributed to standard operational procedures, not combat damage. Symon’s post clearly stated, “New report alleges a direct hit at India’s Adampur Air Base by Pakistan damaged a Su-30, however a review reveals this image taken in March 2025, pre-conflict actually shows a MiG-29 undergoing maintenance, the dark soot near the engine test pad is routine, not battle damage.”
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Pakistan also falsely claimed to have destroyed an S-400 radar at the Bhuj air base in Gujarat. Again, Symon refuted this claim. He exposed the image used as evidence, taken in February 2025 (pre-conflict), showing what Pakistan claimed was damage, as actually being oil stains in the air base’s vehicle service yard.
His X post detailed this, stating, “An image is being circulated now as a Pakistan destroyed S-400 radar in India, a review however indicates it’s likely just oil stains at Bhuj military base’s vehicle service yard, also the image predates the recent Indo-Pak conflict as it was taken in February 2025.”
