Document Claiming Mass IAF Pilots Resignations After Operation Sindoor is Edited

A document from the Indian Air Force (IAF) is circulating on social media which claims that in just five years 780 IAF pilots have resigned, and 163 more pilots resigned just after the conflict with Pakistan in May 2025.

Sharing the document, the handle Tactical Tipu wrote, “In just five years, the Indian Air Force had to let go 780 GD pilots, including frontline fighter jocks on premature retirement. A record 163 pilots quit in 2025 alone, unsurprisingly, right after the May 2025 fiasco against Pakistan. The exodus speaks for itself, when an air force disowns its own dead, refuses state funerals and keeps families under tight surveillance to suppress the truth, the message to serving pilots is loud and clear, fly, fight, and if you fall, you’re on your own. No wonder India’s pilots are choosing the exit door faster than the IAF can hide its losses.” (Archived link)

Annushi Tiwari asserted, ”Documents of #IAF show that 780 pilots resigned in 5 years, and after the #Pakistan-#India war, 163 pilots resigned. Many families whose pilots were martyred in the war are still facing oppression to keep them silent, @RahulGandhi has been proven right once again today.” (Archived Link)

Another user Mohsin Ali stated, “Official IAF documents show 780 general-duty pilots, including fighter pilots, resigned in the past five years, with a record 163 resigning in 2025 alone, the highest number after the May 2025 conflict with Pakistan. Reports suggest the exodus follows the IAF’s decision not to acknowledge pilots killed in the conflict, denying them military funerals. Families of the deceased have reportedly been kept under tight supervision for six months to prevent leaks that contradict the official narrative.” (Archived link)

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Fact Check

In our fact-check investigation, we performed a keyword search and found an India Today report. There, we found that the original document had been altered. The actual document dates back to August 7, 2020, not December 7, 2025. It is an RTI reply revealing data on how many IAF pilots quit.

The figure of 163 pilots leaving the IAF in 2025 has also been edited. Next, to verify the claim that 163 IAF pilots resigned after the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025, we performed a keyword search but found no credible media reports supporting this claim. This confirms that the claim of 163 pilots is fabricated and baseless.

Furthermore, in the India Today report, it was found that the RTI document revealed a date of a ten-year period between 2010 and 2020, during which 798 pilots resigned for various reasons, of whom 289 received NOCs to join private airlines

In Conclusion, the claim that 780 pilots left IAF and an additional 163 pilots resigned in the aftermath of May 2025 conflict with Pakistan is fake. The purported IAF document is doctored. The original document shows ten years of data, during which 798 pilots resigning for various reasons. Furthermore, the claim that 163 pilots resigned in 2025 is also baseless and unfounded.

Claim	An IAF document stated that in the last five years, 780 pilots resigned and an additional 163 pilots resigned after the conflict with Pakistan in May 2025.
Claimed by	Tactical Tipu, Annushi Tiwari and Mohsin Ali.
Fact Check	The document is fake and edited.

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