The final day of the Dubai Air Show 2025 was underway. Thousands of spectators were watching extraordinary aerial displays under the bright desert sun when suddenly the air show turned into a scene of shock. India’s locally manufactured fighter jet HAL Tejas lost control during a high-risk maneuver, burst into flames, and crashed into the ground.
The pilot’s death not only plunged the event into mourning but also shook the very foundation of India’s claim of having an “unbeatable air force.”
Inquiry or Propaganda? The World Is Asking Immediately after the crash, the Indian government announced a “high-level inquiry.” But international military observers quickly pointed out that such statements rarely hold their ground.
According to international affairs expert Mahwish Ali, India will soon push aside the real reasons-technical failure, fuel leakage, human error-and build a familiar heroic narrative: that the pilot “sacrificed his life” and “saved hundreds of spectators.”
This pattern is not new. Each time an accident occurs, Indian media releases a cinematic story to hide the genuine questions about engineering quality, pilot training, and operational discipline.
India’s Problem: A Big Narrative, a Weak Performance India has consistently tried to portray its air force as invincible through movies, talk shows, political speeches, and aggressive media campaigns. Films like URI and Fighter depict the Indian Air Force (IAF) as one of the world’s strongest forces, while neighbouring countries are shown as weak and incompetent.
But reality is not bound by Bollywood scripts, The Dubai Air Show crash demonstrated a simple truth:
“Wars are not won by propaganda-they are won by skill.”
What the World Saw: A Smile, and the Truth behind It Preliminary reports indicate the Tejas suffered fuel leakage, which led to loss of control and ignition. For a modern fighter jet, such a failure is extremely serious and indicates deep technical flaws.
Global defense analysts openly stated: “IAF is becoming known more for accidents than achievements.”
“The Tejas crash raises questions about India’s aviation engineering.”
“India must focus on technical expertise instead of media-driven narratives.”
1. Modern Jets, But Basic Mistakes
India has purchased Rafale, Sukhoi, and other modern aircraft after spending billions of dollars, but advanced technology is useless without advanced training.
The Tejas crash revealed:
Poor decision-making under pressure failure to maintain control during critical maneuvers frequent navigation and radar-reading mistakes these are basic errors no modern air force can afford.
2. International Experts: “IAF Training Is Weak”
Global military reports have consistently criticised the IAF. Key weaknesses include: Unbalanced and insufficient training Lack of real-combat simulation Shortage of technical staff Poor maintenance at air bases substandard simulators IAF pilots repeatedly struggle during dogfight exercises, complex maneuvers, and high-stress decision-making-leading to a long history of avoidable accidents.
3. A Disturbing History of Crashes
Few air forces in the world have recorded as many crashes as India.
Over recent decades: More than 400 fighter jets have crashed.
According to analysts, when so many aircraft go down, the problem is not fate-it is training, engineering, and standards.
4. Pilot Performance: Mistakes Now Routine
International defense circles frequently point out recurring weaknesses among IAF pilots: Navigation errors radar misinterpretation, Air panic miscalculation of altitude, speed, and aircraft load, wrong decisions during critical moments. These weaknesses expose the hollowness behind India’s grand narrative of air superiority.
5. Global Media’s Direct Criticism
After the Dubai crash, respected defense journals wrote: “India relies on technology, not skill.”
“IAF stands on propaganda, not performance.”
“IAF lags behind in even basic combat preparedness.”
These are not emotional or political statements; they stem from years of documented incidents.
6. Why Propaganda Always Fails
India’s core weakness is that it focuses on projecting “power” instead of developing “capability.”
Key reasons:
Political pressure operational decisions are influenced by political expectations and nationalistic hype.
Lack of Combat Experience India has near-zero modern aerial warfare experience.
Training & Technical Deficiencies Lowtraining hours, poor simulators,maintenance issues, and inexperienced technical staff all contribute to frequent accidents.
Bollywood-Driven Narrative: Indian media repeatedly converts every failure into a heroic story-something global analysts no longer take seriously.
7. Global Perspective: Strong in Films, Weak in Reality
The international defense community agrees: In my view if India wants to become a real air power, it must start with skills, training, and professionalism-not films, politics, or propaganda as the Tejas crash is a reminder that creating a narrative is easy; achieving air superiority is extremely difficult.
Defense experts repeatedly say: Pilots win with skill, not propaganda, technology works only in expert hands, crashes cannot be hidden behind cinematic storytelling.
Based on my 13 years of aviation experience, I firmly believe the Dubai Air Show crash was not just a technical failure-it was a global exposure of deeper structural weaknesses inside the Indian Air Force.
Fuel leakage, maneuvering errors, engineering flaws, and poor decision-making were central factors. And the world has now understood the difference between India’s cinematic claims and its real capabilities.
In the end, one truth stands unchallenged:
Propaganda is temporary; performance is permanent.
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