Indian Air Force terminates three officers for accidentally firing BrahMos missile into Pakistan

Earlier this year in March, neighbours India and Pakistan came close to locking horns after the former accidentally fired a BrahMos cruise missile. The said missile landed in Pakistan and caused instant drama in the nuclear-weapons armed neighbourhood. Five months later, the Indian Air Force (IAF)has terminated the services of three Air Force officers connected to the case.

In a statement released by the Air Force, the three officers were sacked after a court of inquiry found them guilty of deviating from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

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"A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on 09 March 2022. A Court of Inquiry (Col), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile," read the Air Force statement.

The officers are terminated effective immediately: IAF

The three officers to be relieved from their duties include a Group Captain, a Wing Commander and a Squadron Leader. In the statement, IAF said that termination letters had already been issued to the trio.

"These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the Central Govt with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on 23 Aug 22." added the statement.

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The accident

The accident transpired on March 9, 2022, when the projectile was launched accidentally during a routine maintenance check. At the time, New Delhi was forced to release a statement calling the incident "deeply regrettable" while expressing relief that no one was killed.

"On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry." stated the Indian government.

According to Pakistan, the accidental missile flew more than 100 kilometres inside its airspace, at speed of Mach 3 and an altitude of 40,000 feet before landing near Mian Chunnu town. As the missile had no warhead, it did not detonate and major damage was averted.

"The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace, as well as human life and property on the ground," a Pakistani official was quoted as saying at the time.

It is pertinent to note that BrahMos is a two-stage missile which can travel close to Mach 3 speed in the cruise phase. The missile maintains supersonic speed all through the flight, leading to shorter flight time, and ensuring lower dispersion of targets.

Succinctly put, it is a lethal missile, capable of inflicting some serious damage on the opponent.It is a miracle that no damage was done as it could have instigated a serious altercation between the countries.

(With inputs from agencies)

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