FACT-CHECK: This photo of an Air Wing Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jet is not from South Sudan

Written by Ginaba Lino

A Facebook post published on 23 January 2026 , by a Facebook user claims to show the picture of an Air Force plane spotted proceeding to North Bor, Southern Upper Nile State (SUN-State), South Sudan, but this is false.

“According to eyewitnesses, William Deng Nhial and Abel Alier Kuai Air Force (3 & 4) were spotted 30 minutes ago proceeding to North Bor, Southern Upper Nile State (SUN-State), South Sudan at 1:20 PM (MML) local time.,” the post image caption reads in part.

The post garnered 150 comments and 12 shares at the time of this publication.

Debunking the Claim:

A Google Reverse Image search (archived) returns several images of the plane and some specifics of the picture published.

Bing Reverse Image Search (archived) results show several images as well, showing this brand of plane and the specific image being used on March 21, 2022 (archived). The details show that this is Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets.

According to the Army Recognition Group, Uganda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India for the maintenance and technical support of the Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets Uganda purchased from Russia more than a decade ago. The MoU was signed on March 4 at the Indian High Commission in Kampala. Lt Gen. Charles Lutaaya, Commander of Air Force in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), signed on behalf of Uganda.

The Eagle, an online news publisher used in 2023, with a heading, ‘UPDF Fighter-Bomber Jets extend operations in DRC, attack more ADF camps.’

Some other sources with the same images showing the plane as Uganda’s forces fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo are seen on, Yandex, Tineye and Nexus Media (archived).

Our Verdict:

The ClarityDesk finds the claim that an Air Force plane was spotted proceeding to North Bor, Southern Upper Nile State, to be false. The image of the plane published has been on the internet since 2022, and it shows the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces plane in the DR Congo.

This article is published by The ClarityDesk, with the support of the Election Civic Tech Fund of AfricTivistes, within the AHEAD Africa and Digitalise Youth projects, led by the Digital Democracy Initiative.

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