Recently, a Facebook page called M23 shared photos of a large, green cylindrical object found near a shoreline, claiming it is a piece of a downed FARDC Sukhoi fighter jet.
However, a careful analysis shows that this claim is almost certainly false. Here’s why:
🛩️ 1. Fuselage Parts Don’t Look Like This
Modern fighter jets like Sukhoi aircraft (Su-25, Su-27, Su-30, etc.) are made from complex airframe structures. When they crash:
- you see twisted metal
- broken composite panels
- wing spars and ribs
- exposed internal structure
- turbine engine parts
The object in the photos has smooth cylindrical sides with no panel joints, no rivets, and no internal framework visible.
That’s not characteristic of an aircraft fuselage or wing section. In contrast, aircraft parts are highly engineered and segmented — not continuous smooth tubes.
🚀 2. The Object Has Stabilizing Fins — A Missile Feature
In the second photo, you can clearly see small fins at the rear end of the object. These features are common on missiles and rockets, not on aircraft fuselages.
Fighter jets do not have fins like this:
✔ Missiles and rockets have them for aerodynamic stability
✘ Aircraft fuselage sections do not
This strongly suggests the object is a missile body or rocket casing, not part of a downed aircraft.
🔍 3. Shape Matches Known Missile Types, Not Jet Parts
The cylindrical shape with a rounded nose and fixed tail fins matches known military missiles — for example:
- Soviet/Russian surface-to-air missile bodies
- Air-to-air missile casings
- Training rockets or booster stages
These pieces are often painted in olive drab and can detach or be discarded during military operations.
📍 4. No Signs of Aircraft Crash Damage
If a Sukhoi aircraft had crashed:
there would be a wide debris field
burned fragments from fuel and munitions
identifiable aircraft numbers or markings
metal fragments bent and torn from impact
Instead, this object is intact and shows only minor dents and scratches — consistent with being washed ashore or moved by water, not a high-impact crash.
⚠️ 5. Why Social Media Claims Are Misleading
Pages like M23 often attach dramatic explanations to ordinary military debris to attract attention and spread propaganda. Without independent confirmation from:
- official military sources
- aviation incident reports
- eyewitness accounts of a crash
identification of wreckage pieces by experts
…there is zero evidence this object came from a Sukhoi aircraft.
➡ Conclusion: It is not a piece of a downed Sukhoi aircraft.
It is much more likely to be a missile or rocket body, detached from its launcher or recovered after falling into water.
🧠 Final Thought
In modern conflict zones, military hardware ends up in places it shouldn’t due to:
- training exercises
- munitions tests
- missile misses
- equipment transport
- flooding and water displacement
Just because a photo looks dramatic doesn’t mean the claim attached to it is true.
