A social media post is going viral on X, claiming that the Indian Army mistook the planets Jupiter and Venus for Chinese spy drones for six months. The post appears to be shared with the intent to mock the professionalism of the Indian armed forces. However, our investigation found this claim to be misleading.
Legitimate Targets shared, ‘BREAKING: INDIAN ARMY spent 6 MONTHS watching “CHINESE spy drones,” which actually were the planets Jupiter & Venus.’
Trending Feeds posted, ‘Indian Army’s 6-Month ‘Chinese Spy Drone’ Watch Turns out to be Jupiter & Venus.’
ENP 166 wrote, ‘The INDIAN ARMY spent 6 MONTHS observing ‘CHINESE spy drones,’ which were actually the planets Jupiter and Venus.’
Humandust, Awadh and King Yegah also shared a similar claim.
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We began our fact-checking process by conducting a Google search related to the viral claim. We found a BBC report published on July 25, 2013, which stated that the Indian Army had reportedly spent six months monitoring what they believed were Chinese spy drones violating Indian airspace—only to later discover that the objects were actually the planets Jupiter and Venus.
The report noted that tensions were high at the time along the disputed Himalayan border between India and China, particularly following a standoff in April 2013, during which Chinese troops were accused of setting up a camp on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). By that point, Indian troops had reportedly documented 329 sightings of unidentified objects over a lake in the border region between August 2012 and February 2013, according to The Telegraph.
The BBC further cited military sources, stating that these objects were believed to have violated the LAC 155 times. To resolve the mystery, the army reached out to the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAP). Astronomer Tushar Prabhu told the paper, “Our task was to determine whether these unidentified objects were celestial or terrestrial.” Once the movement of the objects was tracked in relation to the stars, they were correctly identified as planets.
The report highlighted that planets can appear unusually bright at high altitudes due to clearer atmospheric conditions and could easily be mistaken for aerial intrusions, especially with increasing concerns about drone surveillance.
We also reviewed a report by The Telegraph, published on July 24, 2013, which gave further details. Telegraph reported, “The Indian Army mistook Jupiter and Venus as unidentified flying intruders making nocturnal sorties from China into the skies above eastern Ladakh for over six months until astronomers brought their fears to ground, it has been disclosed. Requested by the army, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, deputed two astronomers to Ladakh earlier this year to resolve the mystery of the two objects that the army had been observing in the sensitive border zone since August 2012.”
The Report further said, “Sources told The Telegraph that army personnel had until February 2013 documented 329 sightings of the unidentified objects seen over Thakung near Pangong Tso, a high-altitude lake shared by India and Tibet. The objects were perceived to have violated the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that India shares with China 155 times.
The astronomers were told that the first object, viewed from a location about 4,715 metres above sea level near Thakung, appeared in the horizon at about 6pm and remained visible until about 5am. The second object appeared at 4am and faded away at 11am.
The sightings emerged amid what defence analysts say are simmering concerns within the Indian Army about cross-border transgressions and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by the Chinese to look into Indian territory.”
“The IIAP operates the world’s highest telescope at Hanle, Ladakh, about 150km south of the location where the sightings were reported. Army lance naik Sheminderpal Singh — a regular observer at Point 4715 — told the astronomers that he had noticed a delay of four minutes in the appearance of one of the objects each consecutive day. Singh also told them that the object seemed to be the brightest light in the sky and always appeared to move with respect to the stars. The IIAP team told the Indian Army to use an instrument called a theodolite to record the horizontal angle and vertical elevation of the two objects. Army personnel performed these observations between February 17 and 22 and submitted the data to the IIAP.”
Furthermore the report said, “The astronomers have concluded that the object observed from Point 4715 is Jupiter as the observations coincide with the planet’s diurnal motion and the apparent motion of the object due to the rotation of the Earth. The description of the second unidentified object that appeared early in the morning suggests that it is Venus, which is currently moving behind the Sun and will in the coming months appear as an evening object. The IIAP team said stars and planets over the horizon in Ladakh appear very bright because of increased atmospheric transparency at the high altitude and both Jupiter and Venus at the time were the brightest planets in the sky. The astronomers also clarified that objects that rise in the east may appear to be moving across the LAC and approaching the Indian side.”
Additional sources such as Daily Mail and HackRead also confirm that the incident occurred in 2013. Importantly, it was noted that Singh was not at fault. Troops along the LAC are routinely deployed at high-altitude observation posts to monitor border activity. In such challenging conditions, it is not unusual for celestial bodies to be misidentified, particularly given the strategic sensitivity of the region.
| Claim | The Indian Army recently mistook Jupiter and Venus for Chinese spy drones. |
| Claimed | Social media users |
| Fact Check | The incident actually dates back to July 2013 and is over a decade old. |
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