Fact check: Image altered to add balloon victory marking to F-22
F-22 #F-22
The claim: Image shows victory marking on F-22 that shot down Chinese spy balloon
A Feb. 6 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows the pilot of an F-22 Raptor giving a thumb’s up to a crew member. The plane has a white decal below the cockpit that looks like a balloon with a payload suspended beneath it.
“The F-22 has a balloon kill marking,” the post reads.
The post was liked more than 2,000 times in three days.
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Our rating: Altered
The marking was digitally added to a photo of an F-22 originally published to social media in 2020. The marking depicted would not be allowed under Air Force regulations.
Image of fighter jet is altered
On Feb. 4, an F-22 shot down a Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina. The balloon carried a payload of spy equipment, according to U.S. officials, and had flown over strategic locations across the U.S.
The incident marked the first time an F-22 downed another aircraft since making its combat debut in 2015.
The same photo, minus the decal on the plane, was posted April 2, 2020, to the Facebook account of Edwards Air Force Base in California. The caption on that post says a pilot in the 411th Flight Test Squadron, F-22 Combined Test Force was giving a thumbs up after a crew member prepared the fighter for flight.
The altered image is intended to look like a victory marking, a symbol placed on a plane to denote it had been the winner in air-to-air combat.
How China’s spy balloon isn’t so unique for espionage technology
The tradition of placing victory markings or kill marks on aircraft dates back to at least World War II for the Air Force and its predecessors. Markings during WWII often included insignias or symbols relating to the type of mission flown and the nation of the target or other enemy combatant.
Air Force Instruction 21-105 standardizes the look of markings for the branch. Victory markings are limited to green stars with black borders. The type of aircraft shot down would then be stenciled into the star in white block lettering.
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“No other victory markings are authorized,” the instruction says.
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USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.
The Associated Press also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Edwards Air Force Base, April 2, 2020, Facebook ost
U.S. Air Force, updated Jan. 19, Instruction 21-105
USA TODAY, Feb. 4, US downs suspected Chinese spy balloon off Carolina coast
USA TODAY, Feb. 4, Video shows moment US shot down suspected Chinese spy balloon after Americans reported sightings Saturday
Bloomberg, Feb. 5, F-22 Makes First Air-to-Air Strike in Chinese Balloon Takedown
We are The Mighty, July 26, 2022, The awesome reason some Air Force fighters have green stars
AirCorps Art, April 22, 2020, Aircraft Victory Mission Markings of WWII
Associated Press, Feb. 6, Image altered to add balloon-shaped marking on US fighter jet
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Image altered to add balloon victory marking to F-22