Does a video show U.S. fighter jets in a real dogfight over Iran in the Feb. 28, 2026, conflict? No, that's not true: The clip from a video game was posted on a U.S. Army spoof account two days ahead of the conflict and has been circulating on social media since at least May 2025. It was originally purported to be an air battle between India and Pakistan.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on February 26, 2026. It read:
War started 🚨🚨
US fighter jets entered Iran and destroyed several Iranian military bases.
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of X.)
The video can be watched here:
War started 🚨🚨
-- US Army (@UsArmyspoof_) February 26, 2026
US fighter jets entered Iran and destroyed several Iranian military bases . pic.twitter.com/Zi6Nc42aWG
Conflict in the Middle East
The United States and Israel launched (archived here) an attack against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, targeting Iranian political and military leaders, sources said. President Donald Trump urged the Iranian people to "seize control of your destiny" by standing up to the Islamic leadership that has governed the country since 1979. Iran retaliated, hitting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.
Video clip
Lead Stories found multiple online versions of the video. The earliest appeared in a post (archived here) on YouTube on May 11, 2025. Its description says:
#pakistan #Army Pakistan destroy India Pakistani news #jf17thander #piolet
It also appeared in another post (archived here) on X in the hours after the Feb. 28 conflict started:
This is one of the most AMAZING videos I have ever seen.
It doesn't even look real!
pic.twitter.com/X5hnHMYqWv
-- The Nikki V. (@TheUnHeard_One) February 28, 2026
Lead Stories also ran the video through Gemini, Google's AI assistant. It reached these conclusions (archived here):
This video is a CGI [Computer-Generated Imagery] simulation from a video game. It is not real-world footage.
The specific game featured is almost certainly DCS World (Digital Combat Simulator), though similar "ultra-realistic" mods for Arma 3 also produce this style of footage. These simulations are frequently used to create cinematic combat scenes that go viral on social media, sometimes being mistaken for real conflict footage.
Why this is a Video Game:
The Aircraft: The jet is a Sukhoi Su-57 "Felon," a Russian fifth-generation stealth fighter. In reality, these are extremely rare and expensive aircraft that would not be flown this aggressively and low over a city in these conditions.
Artificial Camera Shake: The shaky "handheld" camera effect is a common post-processing trick used by flight sim creators to make digital footage feel more grounded and "real."
Flare & Tracer Physics: The way the flares (the bright orange lights) are dispensed and drift in the air is a signature of the DCS World particle engine. The green and white tracers (Anti-Aircraft fire) also follow the distinctive straight-line "laser" pathing typical of game assets.
Visual Lighting: The "bloom" effect on the streetlights and the way the orange flare light reflects off the jet's skin are typical of modern game lighting engines (like the T-4 or EDGE engine used in DCS).
Risky Maneuvering: At approximately 0:13, the jet performs a high-G bank very close to buildings. In real life, the risk of a bird strike, mechanical failure, or pilot error in a dense urban environment would make such a flight path virtually impossible for a high-value stealth fighter.
